You thought we put a stake through the heart of the crypto apocalypse BS back in the 1990s? IT LIVES! (Not familiar with the crypto wars? Here's a quick bit of background from the Washington Post from a few months back.
Apple iPhone ban? New York looks to outlaw sale of encrypted smartphones | ZDNet (ZDNet)
A proposed bill in New York seeks to require that all smartphones sold in the state can be decrypted or unlocked and proposes hefty fines for vendors failing to comply.
The proposed law marks the latest effort by lawmakers to make it easier for law enforcement to access and read encrypted data stored on smartphones.
Should the proposed bill successfully pass through New York's state assembly and senate, Apple and Google could face fines of $2,500 per device sold in the state after January 1, 2016, if a retailer knowingly sold a smartphone that could not be unlocked or decrypted by the device manufacturer or operating-system provider.
In other words, there's no requirement for Apple, Google, or device makers to create a backdoor. But if any manufacturer wants to sell a smartphone in the state, the device would need to comply with those requirements or else face a civil suit by the attorney general or district attorney.