FBI is asking courts to legalize crypto backdoors because Congress won’t

FBI Director James Comey in the hot seat Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee. (credit: C-SPAN3)

James Comey, the FBI director, told a House panel on Tuesday that the so-called “Going Dark” problem is “grave, growing, and extremely complex.” (PDF)

His prepared testimony to the House Judiciary Committee is not surprising. There’s been a chorus of government actors singing that same song for years. But what we didn't hear was the bureau director do is ask Congress for legislation authorizing encryption backdoors. That’s because there’s no congressional support—which underscores why the President Obama administration is now invoking a 1789 obscure law in federal courthouses asking judges to do what Congress had declined to do.

"If I didn't do that, I oughta be fired," Comey told the panel during his live testimony. The panel's hearing, "Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy," was largely dedicated to the FBI's legal battle with Apple. He said if the bureau had the capability to bypass iPhone passcode locks in the dozens of pending cases where they've gone to court, "We wouldn't be litigating if we could."

Read 25 remaining paragraphs | Comments