House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday sided with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is fighting a court order to unlock the phone used by the San Bernardino terrorist Rizwan Farook.
“I don’t think it should be up to one judge to decide encryption policy as we move forward,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi said FBI Director James Comey has not made the case that unlocking the phone could lead to information that prevents another terrorist attack.
“His statement was really predicated more on the idea we owe it to the victims of San Bernardino to get to the bottom of this,” Pelosi said.
Cook, she said, has already cooperated with federal authorities seeking access to the locked phone used by the San Bernardino terrorists, but suggested the FBI wants a faster way to access phones with multiple passwords.
Cook told ABC News Wednesday that unlocking the phone for the FBI would “be bad for America,” and threaten the electronic privacy of all Americans.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said a congressional commission should be formed to weigh in on government access to private electronic devices left inaccessible by encryption.
“So let’s have people who understand technology, the possibilities, recognition that technology never stops and that our commitment to protect and defend the American people is our first responsibility,” Pelosi said. “And I believe that having a preeminence in technology globally is in the furtherance of our national security as we protect our privacy.”
Pelosi said Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, “have come out cautioning against any back-door or opening up of encryption, not just because it could invade privacy, but because it could impede our security.”
