FBI director calls for greater police access to communications

"I like and believe very much that we need to follow the letter of the law to examine the contents of someone's closet or someone's smartphone," he said. "But the notion that the marketplace could create something that would prevent that closet from ever being opened, even with a properly obtained court order, makes no sense to me."

He called on the country to have a debate about the proper level law enforcement access to communications, after revelations of NSA surveillance may have lead to an overreaction. "Are we so mistrustful of government -- and of law enforcement -- that we are willing to let bad guys walk away, willing to leave victims in search of justice" he said.

Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's email address is grant_gross@idg.com.