FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday the U.S. government should change laws to force telecommunications companies to give law enforcement access to encrypted communications of individuals.
Comey argues things like murder cases could be stalled and that suspects could walk free if encrypted phones are out of reach from law enforcement investigations.
"We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications from information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so," said Comey in a speech at The Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C. "Encryption isn't just a technical feature. It's a marketing pitch. But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at every level."
Despite the concerns raised by Comey, and his request that lawmakers rewrite the 20-year-old Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act to expand it to cover the many communication apps and devices not anticipated by lawmakers in 1994, privacy advocates suggest his claims are exaggerated, especially in light of the concerns raised by ex-NSA agent Edward Snowden.
Comey's speech echoes a response stated by many law enforcement officers since companies like Apple and Google started incorporating data encryption by default into their mobile operating systems.
"People previously used safes and combination locks to keep their information secure -- now they use encryption," said a Google spokesperson in a statement. "It's why we have worked hard to provide this added security for our users."
Comey himself has said the FBI is committed to a "front-door" approach, including court orders, to intercept communications. Despite this, privacy advocates are concerned that allowing such interception would not only allow law enforcement to access a user's communications, but also hackers.
"Whether you call it a 'front door' or a 'back door,' weakening the security of a system to enable law enforcement access also opens that door to foreign governments and criminals," said Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at the ACLU.
While Comey is not suggesting smartphone manufacturers provide back doors into devices, he is suggesting communications providers have the ability to scramble the encrypted data if need be.
Another issue is that laws are not the same around the world and U.S. law does not necessarily reflect laws of other countries.
"If you're Apple, or you're selling Androids, you can't sell an NSA/FBI-ready phone in Europe," said an audience member, questioning the international implications of such laws. "Are you expecting them to build two kinds of iPhones, two kinds of Android phones? Are they going to have to build three or four or six kinds when other countries follow our lead?"
