WASHINGTON – Two U.S. senators on Wednesday issued a formal
draft of a controversial bill that would give courts the power to order
technology companies like Apple to help authorities break into encrypted
devices or communications for law enforcement or intelligence purposes.

The proposal arrives just days after an earlier draft leaked
online and drew fire from security researchers and civil liberties advocates
who warned it would undermine Internet security and expose personal data to
hackers.

Those same groups on Wednesday said the new draft is little
different from the leaked version.

U.S. Justice Department has redoubled its efforts to use the
courts to force Apple to unlock encrypted iPhones.

Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Senate
intelligence committee’s Republican chair and top Democrat, said in a statement
they intended now to “solicit input from the public and key stakeholders
before formally introducing the bill.”

“I am hopeful that this draft will start a meaningful and
inclusive debate on the role of encryption and its place within the rule of
law,” Burr said. “Based on initial feedback, I am confident that the
discussion has begun.”

The new discussion draft does not require manufacturers or
communications companies to process, transmit or store data in any particular
format.

Rather, it requires companies, upon receipt of a court order, to
turn over to the government “data in an intelligible format” even if
encryption has rendered that data inaccessible to anyone other than the owner.

Companies must ensure their products “be capable of
complying,” the bill states. Critics say that amounts to a ban on strong
encryption.

The latest version of the bill narrows the scope of cases where
a court can issue an order. Those include crimes that caused or could cause
death or serious injury or that involve drug offenses or child victims, in
addition to foreign intelligence operations, according to the text.

Andrew Crocker, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a digital rights group, said changes in the new discussion draft
were minimal and the bill still threatened Internet security because companies
would only be able to comply by weakening encryption in all their products.

The proposed legislation, which is expected to continue facing
strong opposition from the technology sector and privacy advocates, faces an
uphill battle in a gridlocked Congress.

“This
flawed bill would leave Americans more vulnerable to stalkers, identity
thieves, foreign hackers and criminals,” said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden
in a statement.