FBI director calls for greater police access to communications

16.10.2014
Apple and Google should reconsider their plans to enable encryption by default on their smartphones, and the U.S. Congress should pass a law requiring that all communication tools allow police access to user data, U.S. FBI Director James Comey said.

Comey, repeating his recent concerns about announcements from AppleApple and Google to offer new encryption tools on their smartphone OSes, went a step further Thursday, when he called on Congress to rewrite the 20-year-old Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. Alles zu Apple auf CIO.de

Following the past 15 months of leaks about surveillance at the U.S. National SecuritySecurity Agency, the pendulum of public opinion has swung too far away from law enforcement's needs, Comey said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. Alles zu Security auf CIO.de

CALEA requires telecom carriers to give police access to telephone conversations, but Comey called on Congress to expand it to cover the wide range of communication apps and devices not anticipated by lawmakers in 1994.

New encryption tools, combined with a huge number of communication tools not covered by CALEA, means law enforcement agencies are often "going dark" when attempting to track down criminals and terrorists, Comey said.

"I've never been someone who is a scaremonger," he added. "But I'm in a dangerous business. So I want to ensure that when we discuss limiting the court-authorized law enforcement tools we use to investigate suspected criminals, that we understand what society gains, and what we all stand to lose."

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