FBI Director James Comey has been taking an anti-encryption stance in the media lately. Apple's new encryption standards, Comey argues, are an unnecessary obstacle to law enforcement — and the FBI needs an easy way to get around them. Now Comey is taking the argument straight to Congress, calling for a law overhaul to allow backdoors in smartphones.
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, was passed in 1994 and required telecommunications providers to allow law enforcement to wiretap phones. Newer forms of communication are not explicitly mentioned in the law, and Apple’s new encryption standards leave no room for any government access. Even if government officials request data, Apple says the company can’t comply. (The same goes for Android.) Comey is asking Congress to update CALEA so that backdoors by law enforcement are legal. That’s another piece of the puzzle in a years-long battle over what law enforcement should have access to.
As the Hill reports, politicians like Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), two well-known advocates of internet freedom and privacy, have already said they would oppose a measure that would expand CALEA. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)
