No, not really. Not at all. I’ve seen quite a few tweets linking to this story. The Assistance & Access Bill certainly has problems, yes, but the way it’s characterised here is way off mark. In two key ways, I think... #aabill
First, it’s not “do whatever else it takes to decrypt subjects’ messages”. There’s a slab of stuff about having to be “reasonable, proportionate, practicable, and technically feasible”, and considering the likely business impact on the provider and wider public interests. #aabill
Obviously how that would pan out in practice remains to be seen, so expect some lively legal action for that! #aabill
Second, there’s a specific prohibition on demanding a “systemic weakness, or a systemic vulnerability”, or demanding that a provider not fix a “systemic” problem. The wording is a bit rushed, and may cause problems, but the intent is NO backdoors. #aabill
Again, the way this will end up working in practice remains to be seen. Agencies will push hard, obviously, and vendors and service providers will push back. #aabill
This here is a key issue, perhaps THE key issue. The details were modified in some of the 67 pages of amendments passed on the final day. I am analysing these for a piece for @zdnetaustralia on Monday, so I won’t rush to a conclusion just now. #aabill
What @DamienCWalker notes here are the kinds of things people have imagined, because encrypted messages have to be created at one end and viewed at the other in cleartext, so that might well be a request. But... #aabill
Here’s something written by GCHQ technical directors Ian Levy and Crispin Robinson about how they see the UK equivalent playing out in practice. This is based on conference material from August this year. Very worth reading. lawfareblog.com/principles-mor… #aabill
If you prefer listening, here’s a podcast of that panel discussion from August. Ian Levy making a good deal of sense, as he usually does, plus Adam Ingle of Australia’s Dept of Home Affairs who was involved in drafting the law. lawfareblog.com/lawfare-podcas… #aabill
I stress again, though, the law has been rushed, and the end result may not even match the Australian government’s intent, let alone provide the oversight we’d want. Me from 26 Nov: “How government haste is ruining its own anti-encryption law” zdnet.com/article/how-go… #aabill
This is a common misconception, probably caused by sloppy reporting. It’s true that the Senate dumped all its planned amendments. However the House had already made 67 pages of amendments before it hit the Senate. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/searc… #aabill
Here’s a direct link to “Schedule of the amendments made by the House of Representatives” but it’s amendments to the Bill so you’ll need the Bill open in front of you as well. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/downl… (PDF) #aabill
Actually, no! The wonderful parliamentary staffers at @AboutTheHouse and @AuSenate have got the Bill as passed in a single document now. Enjoy. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/downl… (PDF) #aabill
This is why I think the term “backdoor” is unhelpful. It focuses on cryptography and algorithms rather than communications systems as systems. Again I refer to GCHQ’s Levy & Robinson. lawfareblog.com/principles-mor… #aabill
(I’m not saying you’re wrong, @perrynfowler, because you’re right. I just think you’re answering a different question.) #aabill
A N Y W A Y . . . #aabill
As I said before, for my sins I’m writing an explainer on the Assistance & Access Bill for @zdnetaustralia for Monday. That will be posted in 24 hours, plus or minus a few hours. I will leave any further commentary until then. #aabill
@zdnetaustralia As an aside, here’s what powers already exist in Australia. “Police want to read encrypted messages, but they already have significant power to access our data” by @MPWils & @DrMoniqueMann theconversation.com/police-want-to… #aabill
Oh, a final note for the hard of thinking. If you think any of this means I support the Bill then you’re a goose. I think it’s extremely problematic, the process an embarrassment to democracy. But FFS criticise it for what it is, not wild “It bans cryptography!” idiocy. #aabill 
Here’s all of that thread about Australia’s anti-encryption Assistance & Access Bill in a more readable form. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1071577… I’ll be trying not to tweet more about it until I finish writing my @zdnetaustralia thing tomorrow. #aabill
As promised and/or threatened, here’s that explainer on what’s in Australia’s anti-encryption Assistance & Access Bill as passed into law. #aabill
Cryptographer @matthew_d_green has tweeted a solid rebuttal to the GCHQ interception concept I tweeted the other day. threadreaderapp.com/thread/1072163… #aabill
