FBI Director James Comey Calls on Tech Companies Offering End-to-End Encryption to Reconsider ‘Their Business Model’

Dan Froomkin and Jenna McLaughlin, reporting for The Intercept:

Comey had previously argued that tech companies could somehow come up with a “solution” that allowed for government access but didn’t weaken security. Tech experts called this a “magic pony” and mocked him for his naivete.

Now, Comey said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday morning, extensive conversations with tech companies have persuaded him that “it’s not a technical issue.”

“It is a business model question,” he said. “The question we have to ask is: Should they change their business model?”

It’s not in the headline, but Betteridge’s Law applies. Business models have nothing to do with this. It’s a right-to-privacy issue, which is why the FBI is so confused — they’re blinded by their institutional values, which place investigative power and surveillance capabilities above all else.

★ Thursday, 10 December 2015