Pesky encryption: government snooping.

• Author: Denning, C.R.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

THE FBI and National Security Agency want to weaken encryption by forcing technology companies to build a back door into products through which government actors can access users' private communications. But British Prime Minister David Cameron would like to go a step further, banning encrypted communications altogether.

In a speech following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Cameron pondered whether "we want to allow a means of communication between two people which even in extremis with a signed warrant from the home secretary personally that we cannot read?"

His answer: "No, we must not. The first duty of any government is to keep our country and our people safe."

In June, Cameron concurred with a member of Parliament who opined that it was time "companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter...understand...