FBI chief: Apple, Google phone encryption perilous [View all]
Source: Associated Press
The FBI director on Thursday criticized the decision by Apple and Google to encrypt smartphones data so it can be inaccessible to law enforcement, even with a court order.
James Comey told reporters at FBI headquarters that U.S. officials are in talks with the two companies, which he accused of marketing products that would let people put themselves beyond the law's reach.
Comey cited child-kidnapping and terrorism cases as two examples of situations where quick access by authorities to information on cellphones can save lives. Comey did not cite specific past cases that would have been more difficult for the FBI to investigate under the new policies, which only involve physical access to a suspect's or victim's phone when the owner is unable or unwilling to unlock it for authorities.
"What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to hold themselves beyond the law," Comey said. At another point, he said he feared a moment when "when people with tears in their eyes look at me and say, 'What do you mean you can't?'"
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26606073/fbi-chief-apple-google-phone-encryption-perilous
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