Eris Industries Leaves UK After Orwellian Bill Reintroduced

Eris Industries, which develops software that allows anyone to build secure, low-cost data infrastructure using blockchain and smart contract technology, has ordered all its staff to depart the United Kingdom due to what it calls ‘completely unnecessary’ surveillance powers on data included in the government’s reintroduced Investigatory Powers Bill.
The reintroduced bill, which was blocked previously by the Conservative government’s Liberal Democrat coalition partners, will require internet companies to give security agencies access to encrypted conversations of suspected terrorists and criminals.
The bill is designed to update the UK’s communications data law and assist the security services in combating terrorism, and includes a mandatory requirement for software companies to include cryptographic backdoors, which can be accessed by MI5 and other government agencies.
Eris Industries, whose business is industrial cryptography, had said in January it would leave the country and move its headquarters to North America if the bill was reintroduced, and the company has now acted on that threat.
Preston Byrne, COO and general counsel for Eris Industries, said:

This post was published at Coin Telegraph on 2015-05-29.