Apple, Google and a number of cryptologists are doing all they can to stop the government from getting "backdoor" access to your data.
Rumors of the government creating a law that requires a "backdoor" to a user's data have been flying around for a few months. UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently talked about requiring private messaging apps to provide the British government backdoor access to such data. President Obama has also been involved with such conversations, though he has been less demanding of tech companies.
But regardless of what Obama says, a group of senior law enforcement officials are trying to get backdoor access. FBI director James B. Comey recently told a group of reporters that "There's no doubt that all of us should care passionately about privacy, but we should also care passionately about protecting innocent people."
Comey's comment inspired many technology experts to send a letter to President Obama with one request – that he oppose any laws that would require tech companies to create a backdoor police can use to access private data. The signers include a number of major tech companies, including Apple, Adobe, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. It was also signed by a number of civil society organizations, including the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and the World Privacy Forum.
"We [the signers] urge you to rejct any proposal that U.S. companies deliberately weaken the security of their products. We request that the White House instead focus on developing policies that will promote rather than undermine the wide adoption of strong encryption technology. Such policies will in turn help to promote and protect cybersecurity, economic growth, and human rights, both here and abroad," reads the letter.
Hopefully the letter will convince Obama of how a security backdoor would hurt everyone and could open doors to worse security policies. As privacy expert Kevin Bankston told the Washington Post, "It's time for America to lead the world toward a more secure future rather than a digital ecosystem riddled with vulnerabilities of our own making."