Audio By Carbonatix
The US, UK, and three other governments have called on tech companies to build backdoors into their encrypted products so that law enforcement will always be able to obtain access.
If companies don’t, the governments say they “may pursue technological, enforcement, legislative, or other measures” in order to get into locked devices and services.
Their statement came out of a meeting last week between nations in the Five Eyes pact, an intelligence-sharing agreement between the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The nations issued a statement covering a range of technology-related issues they face, but it was their remarks on encryption that stood out the most.
In their memo, the governments stress that these backdoors would only be for “lawful” access to a device, such as in a criminal investigation. And they plan to start by encouraging tech companies to voluntarily add them. But the backdoors would only be voluntary to a point, because the governments say that they might mandate a way in if they “continue to encounter impediments” to accessing encrypted data.
At this point, their request for a backdoor is more of a wish than a command or a threat. But the statement speaks to the growing movement against encryption by governments and lawmakers, who see it as an impediment to law enforcement. As encryption grows more and more accessible in the coming years, these requests are only likely to grow — and could eventually lead to action.
Tech companies have also been wary to comply. Adding a backdoor into their products would inherently mean that their promise of data privacy is broken. It would also open them up to similar requests from other countries, which could use the backdoor access for spying in inappropriate circumstances.
In addition to touching on encryption, the nations also issued a memo on keeping online spaces free from child predators, terrorists, and other bad actors. They asked tech companies to build tools that could prevent illegal content from “ever being uploaded,” while reiterating familiar requests like using humans and automated tools to remove existing content and collaborating across the industry to ID bad content so that it can’t spread.
Latest Stories
-
Children enjoy a day of fun and laughter at Joy FM’s Party in the Park 2025
2 minutes -
Joy FM Party in the Park 2025: Shakers Royal Band ignites excitement
10 minutes -
MTN Ghana hands over hampers to 25 newly born ‘bronya’ babies at Cape Coast Hospital
44 minutes -
Kwanpa Band thrills patrons as Joy FM Family Party in the Park
1 hour -
Lawyer arraigned over alleged GH¢800k excavator fraud
1 hour -
U.S. Commerce flags Ghana’s new mining policy, port delays affecting American firms
1 hour -
This Saturday on Newsfile: Constitution review report and AG’s ORAL drive
1 hour -
Joy FM Party in the Park kicks off as patrons flock in amid growing excitement
2 hours -
Ghana, 2 others to see strong absolute growth in electricity consumption – Fitch Solutions
2 hours -
Return to bond market on gradual basis – IMF to government
3 hours -
Activist Felicity Nelson brings Christmas comfort to Accra Police cells
3 hours -
Obuasi Bitters Luv FM Nite with the Stars thrills Kumasi on Christmas Day
3 hours -
4 banks including one state bank remain severely undercapitalised – IMF
3 hours -
Police arrest 28-year-old with 98 parcels of suspected cannabis in Tamale
3 hours -
Does Goldbod owe BoG US$214m, or has BoG lost US$214m? A policy and financial risk analysis
6 hours
