Major tech firms urge Obama to prevent encryption backdoors

Shawn Knight

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More than 140 of the nation’s top technology firms and cryptologists have sent a letter to the White House urging President Obama to strike down any and all proposals that would provide law enforcement with a backdoor into encrypted communications devices such as smartphones.

Apple, Facebook, Google, HP, Microsoft and Yahoo are just a few of the major technology companies that appear on the document. Three of the five members of Obama’s presidential review group also signed the letter.

The letter notes that strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security, adding that it protects billion of people every day from countless threats – be they street criminals, computer criminals, corporate spies, repressive governments or foreign intelligence agencies.

The protection it offers would be undermined by mandatory insertion of any new vulnerabilities into encrypted devices and services. What’s more, the letter points out that intentional backdoors would further push international buyers away from American products, harming the nation's overall economy.

The letter is largely in response to comments from FBI Director James B. Comey. During a recent roundtable with reporters, Comey said there’s no doubt that all of us should care passionately about privacy but we should also care passionately about protecting innocent people.

As The Washington Post points out, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed skepticism on the issue with Congress unlikely to pass such legislation.

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Can't the tech firms see that congress hates Obama? why can't the tech firms ask their lobbyists to ask the congressmen they paid off to draft and pass an anti surveillance bill for Obama to sign?
 
Can't the tech firms see that congress hates Obama? why can't the tech firms ask their lobbyists to ask the congressmen they paid off to draft and pass an anti surveillance bill for Obama to sign?

All it takes is one disgruntled government employee to release the backdoor information on the internet just once and the hackers will have access to all computer information in all companies (such as banks) because of a this built-in backdoor. Sacrifice all of information security to make the government happy in their spy ****. What threats> This is a way to control and manipulate corporations.
 
Can't the tech firms see that congress hates Obama? why can't the tech firms ask their lobbyists to ask the congressmen they paid off to draft and pass an anti surveillance bill for Obama to sign?

Because they paid off Obama, not congress. Dig out your red/blue 2012 election map and check what color Silicon Valley is.

Laws form in Congress, pass through the House, then the Senate, then go to the Prez. If the Tech Firms had congress in their pocket they could prevent any bill from even being voted on.
Also, it's easier to write one letter to the most important guy, than to write 100 letters to 100 senators. Looks better on the news too.
 
Because they paid off Obama, not congress. Dig out your red/blue 2012 election map and check what color Silicon Valley is.

Laws form in Congress, pass through the House, then the Senate, then go to the Prez. If the Tech Firms had congress in their pocket they could prevent any bill from even being voted on.
Also, it's easier to write one letter to the most important guy, than to write 100 letters to 100 senators. Looks better on the news too.
so it's easier to just scream really loud so everyone can hear you instead of knowing who to ask?
 
Because they paid off Obama, not congress. Dig out your red/blue 2012 election map and check what color Silicon Valley is.

Laws form in Congress, pass through the House, then the Senate, then go to the Prez. If the Tech Firms had congress in their pocket they could prevent any bill from even being voted on.
Also, it's easier to write one letter to the most important guy, than to write 100 letters to 100 senators. Looks better on the news too.
so it's easier to just scream really loud so everyone can hear you instead of knowing who to ask?

Yes. I believe they call it "activism."
 
IF webhosts would refuse to provide downloads for software with known backdoors, and/or remove the link as soon as they were discovered, SOMEONE might get the idea that business suffers when there's a lack of trust.
 
Can't the tech firms see that congress hates Obama? why can't the tech firms ask their lobbyists to ask the congressmen they paid off to draft and pass an anti surveillance bill for Obama to sign?
Hmmm. I look at this like these tech firms are pretending they care. Tech firms don't give a $h1t as long as they make money, and the claim about international buyers not buying the product would simply mean firmware with the back door absent or disabled. To me, their concern is completely empty.

Despite what some here have been told to think, Obama would not sign anything like this anyway.
 
Yes. I believe they call it "activism."
so that's why nothing gets done....
Actually, nothing gets done when congressional leaders make statements like

We're going to do everything to make sure this presidency is a failure
and
I don't believe in global warming because God said he would not smite the Earth again.
What I have to say to that last one is since when did God say that he would prevent humanity from smiting the Earth?
 
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