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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday May 19 2020, @06:54PM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday May 19 2020, @09:51PM (3 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday May 19 2020, @09:51PM (#996570)

    That ship has sailed.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday May 20 2020, @04:26PM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 20 2020, @04:26PM (#996958) Journal
    And yet not sailed. Barr wouldn't be "seeking" such power, if he already had it.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 21 2020, @03:26AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 21 2020, @03:26AM (#997235)

      Woah woah woah, are you starting to realize the current GOP is made up of fascists?

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday May 21 2020, @03:33AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 21 2020, @03:33AM (#997241) Journal
        What does fascism mean here? If it's hearkening back to the age of Hitler and Mussolini, then almost nobody is fascist. If it's merely authoritarians incrementally trying to subjugate everything to the state, well those are more numerous and ideologically diverse.