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The debate about encryption in the tech world has been heated lately. The latest fuel to the fire comes from a few members of the police. First up is the chief of intelligence for the New York Police Department. He was asked about encryption and how the government should restrict apps that provide these services. If privacy is important to you, his answer will not make you happy.
Certain apps are not available on all devices. So if the companies that are outside the United States can’t comply with same rules and regulations of the ones that are in the United States, then they shouldn’t be available on the app stores.
What he’s talking about is actually true. Many of the popular encryption apps don’t come from the US. This makes it difficult for the US government to control them. Some people think it should be up to Google and Apple to censor these apps. This is what a captain from the Indiana State Police had to say.
Right now Google and Apple act as the gatekeepers for most of those encrypted apps, meaning if the app is not available on the App Store for an iOS device, if the app is not available on Google Play for an Android device, a customer of the United States cannot install it.
Obviously, this is not something Google or Apple want to do. They’ve already stood up against the US government. And even if Google did block certain encryption apps from appearing in the US Play Store, there’s nothing stopping people from side-loading. There will always be a work around. What are your thoughts on encryption?
[via Motherboard]
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