WHERE THINGS STAND NOW
Apple is reportedly bracing for another possible
legal fight over encryption with the Justice
Department. So far, though, there’s no clear sign
that the government is headed that way.
“They’re just public shaming and asking nicely,”
said Bruce Schneier, an encryption expert at the
Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at
Harvard University. “Hurting everybody’s security
for some forensic evidence is a dumb tradeoff.”
Barr said the growth of consumer apps with
end-to-end encryption, from Apple’s iMessage
to Facebook’s WhatsApp and Signal, have aided
“terrorist organizations, drug cartels, child
molesting rings and kiddie porn-type rings.” But
the government’s legal options could be limited.
For one thing, DOJ’s own inspector general
slammed the department in the aftermath of the
San Bernardino case, noting that it had made few
attempts to break into the iPhone itself before
filing suit. The FBI unit tasked with cracking phones
had only sought outside help the day before the
department asked a judge to compel Apple’s
assistance, the inspector general’s report found.
The same report found that an FBI section
chief knew an outside vendor had almost 90%
completed a technique that would have allowed
it to break into the phone, even as the Justice
Department insisted that forcing Apple’s help
was the only option.
Civil liberties advocates have also protested.
The American Civil Liberties Union called Barr’s
demands “dangerous and unconstitutional.”
“Here we are again,” Schneier said. “It’s stupid
every time.”