US Attorney General Eric Holder has backed police who fear that a client-side encryption in consumer devices will make their job difficult.
But Holder has a novel argument for this gross invasion of privacy – he is trying to convince people that it will save childrens’ lives.
Speaking before the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online, Holder insisted that it was possible to permit law enforcement to do its job while still adequately protecting personal privacy.
However, rapid access to customers’ phone data can help law enforcement to protect victims and combat the activities of sexual predators and kidnappers.
Holder’s comments have been prompted by security features which encrypt the data on the device based on a cipher derived from the personal security passcode that the owner generates.
His view appears to be that the American people will suffer any atrocity provided a child is able to grow up until they reach an age where they can lose all their privacy.
Police are increasingly worried that they will no longer be able to depend on desk-bound, net-based investigation and might have to get out onto the streets again.
