By Danny Yadron and Devlin Barrett
British Prime Minister David Cameron plans to lobby President
Barack Obama this week to more publicly criticize U.S. technology
companies, such as Facebook Inc., that offer encrypted
communications that can't be unscrambled even with a court order,
two people familiar with the matter said.
The move would extend Mr. Cameron's efforts to help intelligence
and security officials access the information they say they need to
help counter terror. One issue he and intelligence officials have
highlighted in recent days is the growing use of encryption and the
difficulty it poses for law enforcement. The U.S. Justice
Department has also sought a way to access encrypted communications
with a court order, but has been rebuffed by civil-liberties
concerns.
Mr. Cameron, a Conservative, could put pressure on Mr. Obama to
pick a side in a fight between privacy advocates and law
enforcement over secret messaging in the digital age.
"Are we going to allow a means of communications which it simply
isn't possible to read?" Mr. Cameron said in a speech Monday. "No.
We must not."
Mr. Cameron also plans to mention his push to require
social-media companies to proactively monitor their users to spot
budding national-security threats, the people familiar with the
matter said. Tech executives say that would be a nonstarter in the
U.S.
Once a niche concern, encryption has been thrust into national
debates after former National Security Agency contractor Edward
Snowden leaked secrets on U.S. and British surveillance
practices.
In response, U.S. tech companies, including Google Inc., Apple
Inc. and Facebook, started taking extra steps to make sure spies
couldn't read user data without court approval and their knowledge.
This fall, Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service announced it had
started using a new type of encryption that even the company can't
unscramble.
Apple drew rare public criticism from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation last year when it announced the its new iPhone
software would prevent police from viewing the information stored
on a suspect's phone unless they learn his password--even if they
have a search warrant.
FBI Director James Comey accused Apple of impeding law
enforcement. But Apple hasn't backed down, and the White House
warned Mr. Comey of picking a fight with one of the most popular
companies in the U.S., American officials have said.
Apple and Facebook couldn't immediately be reached for comment
Wednesday.
Mr. Cameron will try to push Mr. Obama "in the direction of what
the FBI has said about this," a person familiar with the prime
minister's intentions said.
A spokesman for Mr. Cameron declined to comment. A British
official said Mr. Cameron is likely to discuss online activities of
violent extremists with the president, but said the specifics of
encryption weren't a priority for the meeting.
Though a spokeswoman, the White House declined to comment on a
meeting that hasn't taken place yet.
Messrs. Cameron and Obama are scheduled to meet for a working
dinner Thursday, as well as additional meetings and a news
conference Friday.
The meeting comes amid increased concerns about radicalization
and terror recruitment in the U.S. and Europe following the recent
terrorist attacks in Paris. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has
claimed credit for that attack, though Western intelligence
officials haven't substantiated the claims.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the state of the
economy, trade issues, and other topics including counterterrorism,
Ebola, Russia and the war against Islamic State.
Byron Tau contributed to this article Byron Tau contributed to
this article.
Write to Danny Yadron at danny.yadron@wsj.com and Devlin Barrett
at devlin.barrett@wsj.com
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