US Senate Threatens Facebook, Apple With Data Encryption Regulation

US Senators threatened tech giants Facebook and Apple with the prospect of data regulations of both companies fail to make encrypted data available to law enforcement. Representatives of both firms appear at the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Dec. 10. Both Democrat and Republican Senators blasted both tech juggernauts, according to Reuters.

During the recent US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Republicans and Democrats showed a very rare united front as they appealed mass shooting and child abuse cases wherein data encryption got in the way of blocking access to crucial evidence that stymied investigations.

"You're going to find a way to do this, or we're going to go do it for you," according to Senator Lindsey Graham. "We're not going to live in a world where a bunch of child abusers has a safe haven to practice their craft. Period. End of discussion," the Senator added.

Both Apple and Facebook have been having arguments with governments on the issue of data encryption. Facebook recently faced several governments since it announced its plans of extending end to end encryption far beyond WhatsApp but to all its messaging services. Meanwhile, the Cupertino tech giant is at the center of a 2016 story over calls to developed specialized software, which is a backdoor, that would enable law enforcement to access the locked phone of the suspect to a San Bernardino mass shooting.

Apple and Facebook reportedly traded words against each other on their practices in a bid to channel the ire of the US Senators to the other. Facebook claimed that it did not develop operating systems or devices and that it was open to on-device scanning that would assist in scan illegal contents. In response, Apple head of Privacy Erik Neuenschwander stated that Apple has no forums for strangers to connect with each other, and its business does not include scanning users’ materials to build users’ profiles.

At this point, it is unclear what kind of regulations the committee is referring to. But, considering the track record of both Facebook and Apple regarding encryption and privacy, it is less likely that either of the tech giants will relent.