A collection of tech industry giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, as well as civil liberties organizations and Internet security experts, sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday warning of the unintended consequences of any policy meant to weaken the encryption technologies that protect Internet communications. The White House has been weighing whether to mandate that companies use only forms of encryption that provide law enforcement with the means for unscrambled access - a so-called back door. Critics in the technology industry are concerned that a back door for law enforcement in the United States would be a back door for everyone, including other governments and hackers. One Yahoo executive likened the proposal to "drilling a hole in the windshield".
"We urge you to reject any proposal that U.S. companies deliberately weaken the security of their products", the letter to President Obama said. "We request that the White House instead focus on developing policies that will promote rather than undermine the wide adoption of strong encryption technology."
Tech Giants Urge Obama to Reject Policies That Weaken Encryption
(clear your cookies if you don't have a subscription to the NYT and already read 10 articles this month)
Tech giants don’t want Obama to give police access to encrypted phone data
Tech Giants Tell Obama To Resist Calls For Backdoor Access To Encrypted Data
Tech sector tells Obama encryption backdoors "undermine human rights"
Apple, Google and 140+ tech firms urge Obama not to give police 'backdoor' access to encrypted phone data