Some uses of end-to-end encryption pose undeniable threats to public safety, a top Justice Department official said June 6, invoking a long-standing source of tension between law enforcement and technology firms.
Although encryption is essential for cybersecurity and protecting privacy, “there are certain implementations of encryption that…pose an undeniable and growing threat to…law enforcement’s ability to protect the American public,” said Leslie Caldwell, assistant attorney general for Justice’s Criminal Division, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.