Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley called for breakable encryption during Sunday evening’s Democratic presidential debate, but added that law enforcement should be required to get a warrant in order to access encrypted communication.
“I believe whether it’s a back door or a front door that the American principle of law should still hold,” O’Malley said. “The American government should have to get a warrant whether they want to come through your front door or your back door.”
A “back door” refers to the idea that companies should keep “encryption keys” on hand in order to access data held by their customers. Currently, technology like Apple’s “iMessage” and Facebook’s “Whatsapp” encrypt communication so that neither those companies or federal officials can access it.
“There are certain immutable principles that will not become antique things in our country as long as we defend our country and our values and its freedoms,” O’Malley added. “And one of those things is our right to be secure in our homes, and our right to expect that our federal government should have to get a warrant.”
After terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., some lawmakers began calling for laws to weaken encryption. During the third Democratic debate held on Dec. 19, Hillary Clinton said she had reservations about such proposals.
“I don’t know enough about the technology,” she said, “but I’ve got enough confidence in our tech experts, and maybe the back door is the wrong door. I understand what Apple and others are saying about that.”
However, Clinton said she hoped the tech community would develop a mechanism for bypassing encryption without a federal policy. “I just think there’s got to be a way, and I would hope our tech companies would work with government to figure it out. Otherwise law enforcement is… blind before [attacks], blind during, and unfortunately in many instances, blind after.”
