Sen. John McCain criticized encryption technology, which allows terror suspects to communicate without the government seeing it, in an editorial over the weekend, and renewed a call for legislation to prohibit it.
“Some technologists and Silicon Valley executives argue that any efforts by the government to ensure law-enforcement access to encrypted information will undermine users’ privacy and make them less secure,” the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote in the op-ed for Bloomberg.
“This position is ideologically motivated and profit-driven, though not without merit,” McCain added. “But, by speaking in absolute terms about privacy rights, they bring the discussion to a halt, while the security threat evolves.”
The Arizona Republican said legislation to require breakable encryption would be comparable to 1990s legislation permitting wiretaps.
“Developing technologies that aid terrorists like Islamic State is not only harmful to our security, but it is ultimately an unwise business model,” McCain wrote.
The op-ed comes as Congress seems to be edging away from encryption legislation. Calls from McCain’s counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., to pass legislation have failed to gain traction since December, while an alternate proposal to create a congressional commission to study the issue has gained some support.
McCain’s piece did not acknowledge a more significant objection to a prohibition on encryption, which is that a law in the U.S. would have no impact on companies outside of the country and thus do little to prohibit terrorists from being able to use it.
Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., spoke to that point in January. “I would say the definition of Washington, D.C., is negative unintended consequences,” Johnson said. “Is it really going to solve any problems if we force our companies to do something here in the United States?” Johnson asked. “It’s just going to move off shore. Determined actors, terrorists, are still going to be able to find service providers that will be able to encrypt accounts.”
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National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers in January called the encryption debate a “waste of time.” It makes him the agency’s second leader to do so, after former NSA Director Michael Hayden.
