FTC Warns Tech Giants: Don’t Weaken Encryption Under Foreign Pressure

[johny899]

To be completely honest, encryption is the shield that protects your virtual world. Your banking information, private text messages, or perhaps the long list of passwords you'd just assume no one ever sees; encryption protects them all. Just this last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) unapologetically reminded the biggest tech companies not to comply with foreign governments who may ask you to weaken or compromise encryption.

Why wouldn't they remind them: is there anything more unsettling than sending a "private" message only to discover that a person thousands of miles away could be watching over your shoulder?

What the FTC Really Said​

The FTC was very clear. They nearly gave tech companies an ultimatum:

• Keep encryption strong - no back doors, no shortcuts.
• Do not capitulate to foreign pressures to give access.
• Protect consumers first - when encryption weakens, everyone's data is at risk.

Have you ever noticed how companies claim to "protect your privacy" all the time, but when it comes time to prove it, maybe their actions don't match? The FTC has said enough of the mixed messages.

The Real Risk of Weak Encryption​

So what's the big deal if a company agrees to "one tiny exception?" First, if there is a backdoor–it is not only for the "good guys." Hackers, cybercriminals, and oh yes, reals governments that might be hostile will take advantage of it.

It is like this—would you feel safe if your apartment complex handed out a spare key, to anyone who "asked nicely"? No.

Silicon Valley's Tech Giants Under Fire​

All of these companies and others like them have been UNDER TRUMMPED-UP PRESSURE. Governments around the globe will often claim that they need access to encrypted material for "national security" purposes. And by all appearances, that is a perfectly reasonable posture to have. But this is where it gets tricky:

• Once the dam breaks in one area, the dam breaks everywhere.
• Users lose trust. People stop feeling safe online.
• Innovation slows down. Because really, who wants to innovate on shifting sand

Why This Alert Is Personal​

Consider for a moment that your entire being is on your phone: your history, your location, your health: it is a digital diary of you. As companies try to break encryption, they are threatening to undermine more than just "data"; they are threatening your entire personal universe.