The Encryption Farce
wsj.com
wsj.com
Is anyone in charge at the Justice Department, or are
junior prosecutors running the joint?
Such assertions were as false in Brooklyn as in San
Bernardino. Two hours and a half before a deadline on Friday
night, the government withdrew the case after “an individual
provided the passcode to the iPhone,” according to legal
filings. This second immaculate conception in as many months
further undermines the FBI’s credibility about its
technological capabilities. Judges ought to exercise far
more scrutiny in future decryption cases even as Mr. Comey
continues to pose as helpless.
Yet forgive us if this “conversation” now seems more like a
Jim Comey monologue. The debate might start to be productive
if the FBI Director would stop trying to use the courts as
an ad hoc policy tool and promised not to bring any more
cases like the one in Brooklyn.
Meanwhile, the White House has taken the profile-in-courage
stand of refusing to endorse or oppose any encryption bill
that Congress may propose. If the Obama team won’t start
adjusting to the technological realities of strong and legal
encryption, they could at least exercise some adult
supervision at Main Justice.