On one hand, the tech industry has taken a hit and is frustrated by government action/inaction on mass spying. On the other hand, it looks like law enforcement is frustrated, too, as Apple and Google take action to thwart surveillance. Again, welcome to the world post-Edward Snowden leaks.
As we wrote last week, both Apple and Google are boasting that their mobile operating systems feature or will feature encryption turned on by default, so personal information stored on customers cell phones can t be accessed by law enforcement, even with a warrant. While there will still be ways for the authorities to access information (on the cloud, if it s backed up there, for example), officials are apparently worried about the moves by the two tech giants.
[Apple] is announcing to criminals, use this , Andrew Weissmann, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation general counsel, told the Wall Street Journal. The Journal also quoted Ronald Hosko, who left the FBI earlier this year as the head of its criminal-investigations division: [It’s] wonderful until it s your kid who is kidnapped and being abused, and because of the technology, we can t get to them.
Privacy advocates cheered the announcements by Apple and Google.
Meanwhile, tech companies also have been urging the government to rein in NSA spying, but Politico reports that the industry is frustrated by the lack of meaningful action so far. For example, the USA Freedom Act, which is meant to reform the NSA s bulk collection of phone records, has not passed. Some lawmakers are seeking to strengthen the bill — which some tech industry groups have called weak — to push harder to end warrantless surveillance. As the discussion continues, though, so does concern that Congress may not get to the bill this session. And civil liberties groups such as Access are worried that future revisions to the bill could lead to more worrisome measures.
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