Chairman Nadler Says Encryption Issues Are on House Judiciary’s Radar
The House Judiciary Committee will “certainly” address encryption issues, Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told us last week. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats recently suggested Congress could be forced to alter encryption standards if the tech industry doesn’t act (see 1912100039). Asked if House counterparts will address the debate between Apple and DOJ, which continues to push for encryption back doors on smartphone devices, Nadler said, “Maybe. We’re certainly going to be looking at the question of encryption generally.”
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DOJ shouldn’t be able to tell manufacturers what phones they can make, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., told us: “Apple is not an arm of law enforcement, and the DOJ needs to stop treating it like an arm of law enforcement.” Encryption backdoors wouldn’t have prevented a terror plot like the San Bernardino shooting, an event often referenced by law enforcement, Lieu said. Weakening encryption for one phone puts all phones at more risk of breach, he added.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., noted the difficult balance Congress wants to strike between privacy and security. “I’m a privacy person, and I’m a law enforcement person. I don’t know if there is a middle ground that would make sense, so I’m not sure what the answer is there,” he told us.
“Privacy versus security is the issue. Which is most important? Total privacy or security?” Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said. He’s interested in working with groups and stakeholders to ensure “our information age is properly monitored and accountability is built into it.”
The Center for Democracy and Technology recently raised concerns about draft legislation from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. The organization disagreed (see 2002070052) with Attorney General William Barr overseeing a commission to determine best industry practices to prevent child exploitation. Barr could use this new authority to further his efforts to weaken encryption, CDT said.
With weakening encryption, the privacy and security risks to the public far outweigh law enforcement’s short-term gains, said American Enterprise Institute Visiting Fellow Jim Harper. He argued if manufacturers are forced to unlock their devices, criminals will find other open source techniques for concealing criminal activity. He likened it to forcing Americans to build doors allowing government access into their homes. It won’t make people feel safer, and criminals will exploit the weakness, he said.
“If you give the federal government a backdoor key, eventually criminals and hackers will find it,” Lieu said. “No one in their right mind should ever be giving the federal government a backdoor key because the federal government would not be able to keep it secure.”
It’s impossible to create an encryption back door for police that wouldn’t be exploited by criminals, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro said last week (see 2002050055). CTA didn’t comment on the draft bill from Graham and Blumenthal.