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W
illiam Barr is an idiot. I’m not talking
about his handling of the Mueller
Report, nor am I talking about
Ukrainian conspiracy theories. You can make up
your own minds about those issues. I’m talking
about Barr’s completely wrong, incorrect, so-
backward-it’s-right-out-the-damn-window
stance on encryption. Both in a recent letter to
Facebook and as far back as July, Barr has made
it very clear that he wants backdoors into
encrypted communication systems,
consequences be damned.This outlook puts the private messages of
American citizens and anyone else who would use
these platforms at risk, because a backdoor is still
a door—and even a door with a lock on it can
be opened.THE ENCRYPTION ISSUE
When we say that something is encrypted “end to
end,” it means that the information is secured
along its entire route. This is what Facebook said
it wants to implement by default across all of its
messaging platforms, not just WhatsApp. And
that’s what Barr objects to.US Attorney General
William Barr Has
Encryption All Wrong
COMMENTARY
PC Magazine Senior
Software Analyst Max
Eddy has also written
for publications such
as International Digital
Times, International
Science Times, and
The Mary Sue.