The FBI has reportedly been in talks with Apple and Google regarding the way tech giants were improving security and privacy. When iOS 8 launched, Apple announced that it would no longer be able to decrypt devices for law enforcement. Google also followed suit and announced similar encryption settings would be coming to Android as well.
As Apple noted:
On devices running iOS 8, your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders is placed under the protection of your passcode. Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.
However, FBI director James Comey said he was 'very concerned' with the steps that tech giants were taking to strengthen privacy on mobile devices.
"I am a huge believer in the rule of law, but I am also a believer that no one in this country is beyond the law," Comey told reporters. "What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."
"I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the content of anyone's closet or their smart phone," he said. "The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened -- even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order -- to me does not make any sense."
The FBI says so far the talks between the companies have only concerned the "marketing" of the devices.
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As Apple noted:
On devices running iOS 8, your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders is placed under the protection of your passcode. Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.
However, FBI director James Comey said he was 'very concerned' with the steps that tech giants were taking to strengthen privacy on mobile devices.
"I am a huge believer in the rule of law, but I am also a believer that no one in this country is beyond the law," Comey told reporters. "What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."
"I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the content of anyone's closet or their smart phone," he said. "The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened -- even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order -- to me does not make any sense."
The FBI says so far the talks between the companies have only concerned the "marketing" of the devices.
Read More