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from the gettin-the-camel's-nose-under-the-tent dept.
AG Barr seeks 'legislative solution' to make companies unlock phones:
ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Brett Max Kaufman responded to [US Attorney General] Barr's comments, saying "Every time there's a traumatic event requiring investigation into digital devices, the Justice Department loudly claims that it needs backdoors to encryption, and then quietly announces it actually found a way to access information without threatening the security and privacy of the entire world. The boy who cried wolf has nothing on the agency that cried encryption." While Barr's push for backdoors and cooperation from phone manufacturers raises concerns, Kaufman's response doesn't address that the DoJ isn't seeking the ability to unlock phones, but to do so as quickly as possible.
Apple's refusal to work with law enforcement has been an issue for years. The company wants to ensure its users feel confident in trusting Apple with their data, yet police and the FBI say that the refusals to cooperate hinder investigations and put lives at risk. It sounds like Barr wants to put a system into law that would oblige Apple to comply in future cases. How realistic this plan is -- or how much buy-in from politicians it will get -- remains to be seen, though it would force Apple to rethink how it approaches user privacy.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by gtomorrow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @08:31PM (1 child)
Please don't jump up/down my [pick an orifice] for asking but how does Android compare to Apple's product in regards to unlocking and encryption in general? Is it easier/harder/about the same? I ask just because I'm always reading about this ping-pong match between the TLAs and Apple.
Please, I'd like a concise and informed reply if at all possible. And no, Google is not my friend...nor yours.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday May 19 2020, @09:30PM
No answer here, and devices aside, I recall but still can't find an article roughly quoting Sergey Brin as saying his uncle (?) was under investigation/surveillance by the KGB, which advises him on Google's privacy stance. He also said he'd rather take what he'd made from Google, leave, and spend it all fighting that fight before choosing to integrate Google's products with Chinese governmental surveillance.