Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said on Tuesday that new forms of
encryption capable of locking law enforcement officials out of popular
electronic devices imperil investigations of kidnappers and sexual
predators, putting children at increased risk. “It is fully
possible to permit law enforcement to do its job while still adequately
protecting personal privacy,” Holder said at a conference on child
sexual abuse, according to a text of his prepared remarks. “When a child
is in danger, law enforcement needs to be able to take every legally
available step to quickly find and protect the child and to stop those
that abuse children. It is worrisome to see companies thwarting our
ability to do so.” In his comments, Holder became the highest
government official to publicly chastise technology companies for
developing systems that make it difficult for law enforcement officials
to collect potential evidence, even when they have search warrants.
Though he didn’t mention
Apple and
Google by
name, his remarks followed their announcements this month of new
smartphone encryption policies that have sparked a sharp government
response, including from
FBI Director James B. Comey last week...
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