Prosecutors Op-Ed: Phone Encryption Blocks Justice

New submitter DaDaDaaaaa writes: The New York Times features a joint op-ed piece by prosecutors from Manhattan, Paris, London and Spain, in which they decry the default use by Apple and Google of full disk encryption in their latest smartphone OSes (iOS 8 and Android Lollipop, respectively). They talk about the murder scene of a father of six, where an iPhone 6 and a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge were found.

"An Illinois state judge issued a warrant ordering Apple and Google to unlock the phones and share with authorities any data therein that could potentially solve the murder. Apple and Google replied, in essence, that they could not — because they did not know the user's passcode. The homicide remains unsolved. The killer remains at large."

They make a case for lawmakers to force Apple and Google to include backdoors into their smartphone operating systems. One has to wonder about the legitimate uses of full disk encryption, which can protect good people from harm, and them from having their privacy needlessly intruded upon.

Comments

It's the base assumption that its invalid

[Art Popp]

That if they knew what was on the phone they'd be able to nab the murderer.
You can leave a trail of blood all the way back to your Rockingham estate, and still get away with it.

There's significant (and mixed) legal precedent regarding someone being ordered to give a password that will decrypt data that will incriminate them. If the courts would not be entitled to this password from the phone's owner (due to Fifth amendment protections) then it's not quite just to claim they have a right to it prior to his/her capture.

This article seemed like a balanced view on the subject:
http://politicsandpolicy.org/a...

Re:It's the base assumption that its invalid

[zuckie13]

And law enforcement (mainly federal) kept going after data on these devices without wanting to get a warrant, which is what led to the companies removing the ability for them to decrypt.

Re:It's the base assumption that its invalid

[spire3661]

This is why we established the Bill of Rights, so that we have clear guidance of where these points meet. At the end of the day encryption is protected by the 4th and 5th amendments. I would rather a few cases go unsolved than give those up.

so let me get this straight.

[nimbius]

public: prosecutorial overreach contributed to the death of Aaron Schwartz
proescutors: yeah,but he was a ruthless hacker.
public it has built an unsustainable prison population, ensures perpetual incarceration, and disproportionately targets minorities and poor people.
prosecutors: these people had the drugs, so were technically fighting a war on the drugs. mission success.
public The average american breaks 3 laws per day, and if youre incapable of bail or restitution youre sent to prison for your debt. the united states leads the world in total citizens incarcerated.
prosecutors:If you cant do the time, dont do the crime.
Google: hey guise we heard u like privacy...
Apple: ditto. iPrivacy. it werks.
Prosecutors: phone encryption makes my job hard. turn it off.