FBI: cellphone encryption would impede criminal investigations

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Privacy advocates and technology experts called the concerns exaggerated and little more than recycled arguments the government has raised against encryption since the early 1990s.

Likening encrypted data to a safe that cannot be cracked or a closet door that wont open, Comey said the move by tech companies to protect user communications in the name of privacy is certain to impede a wide range of criminal investigations. New legislation to allow law enforcement to intercept communications is needed at a time of advancing technology and new forms of communication, he said.

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, Comey said in a Brookings Institution speech. Comey cited particular cases in which he said access to cell phone data aided in a criminal investigation. But in a question-and-answer session after the speech, he said he could not cite particular instances in which someone was rescued from danger who wouldnt have been had law enforcement been blocked from that information.

Logic tells me there are going to be cases like that, Comey said.

The speech, which echoes concerns he and others in law enforcement have previously made, comes soon after announcements by Apple and Google that their new operating systems will be encrypted, or protected with coding by default. Law enforcement officials could still intercept conversations but might not be able to access call data, contacts, photos and email stored on the phone.

While the companies actions are understandable, Comey said, the place they are leading us is one we shouldnt go to without careful thought and debate.

Encryption isnt just a technical feature. Its a marketing pitch. But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at every level, Comey said.

The governments concerns may also center in part on the use of Apples iMessage platform, which offers end-to-end encrypted text messages that supersede traditional SMS messages. That kind of encryption likely provides access to those messages on users iPhones, of which Apple has sold more than 240 million since 2013.

He acknowledged a rise in public mistrust of government in the year since former National Security Agency systems analyst revealed NSA secret intelligence collection programs. But he said the public was wrong to believe that law enforcement can access any and all communications with the flip of a switch.

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FBI: cellphone encryption would impede criminal investigations