Chuck Grassley: “I am pleased that the amendment I offered with my good friend Senator Kyl has been accepted. This amendment requires the…”

“I am pleased that the amendment I offered with my good friend Senator Kyl has been accepted. This amendment requires the Sentencing Commission to report to Congress every year on the criminal misuse of encryption technologies, including to obstruct or impede the administration of justice. I think that this will help Congress obtain reliable data on the question of whether encryption is actually being used by criminals to commit crimes. The Grassley-Kyl amendment also provides the Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to enter into an agreement providing the United States Secret Service with concurrent jurisdiction to investigate certain types of wire fraud offenses. I considered amending 18 U.S.C. 1343 to specifically encompass computer frauds, but after reviewing the case law (see, E.G., U.S. v. Riggs, 967 F.2d 561 (11th Cir. 1992)) and consulting with the Justice Department, I have decided that this is not necessary. My hope is that Federal law enforcement and the Justice Department will make more use of section 1343 to prosecute computer crimes. Specifically, I would like this interpretation to be committed to writing and distributed to Federal prosecutors in the field.”