Hillary Clinton took a nuanced stance on encryption during the third Democratic presidential debate Saturday evening, saying it created problems for law enforcement but that “back doors” came with their own concerns.
“I would not want to go to that point,” Clinton responded when asked if she would seek legislation to weaken encryption. However, she said, “It doesn’t do anybody any good if terrorists can move toward encrypted communication that no law enforcement agency can break into.
“I don’t know enough about the technology,” Clinton added, “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.”
Apple and other companies in Silicon Valley have cautioned against creating “back doors” to weaken encrypted communication, noting that it would benefit malevolent state actors as well as law enforcement in the U.S.
“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.”
To date, officials have said that just one perpetrator in a terrorist attack used an encrypted communication application. That was one of the shooters in a May incident in Garland, Texas, who exchanged 109 text messages with someone overseas prior to the attack.
The Democratic front-runner’s statement at Saturday’s debate leaves ample room for her position to evolve. Though Clinton did state that she opposed writing a new law, she also seemed to suggest that would like tech companies to weaken encryption on their own.
That prompted at least one critic to express his dismay with her answer on Twitter. “Aaaaaaaaand Hillary just terrified everyone with an internet connection,” tweeted Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower.
Aaaaaaaaand Hillary just terrified everyone with an internet connection. #DemDebate
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) December 20, 2015
The moderators of ABC’s debate did not seek answers to the encryption question from either of the other two candidates on stage, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
