'Five Eyes' Security Alliance Calls for Access to Encrypted Material

Tags: Britain Five Eyes International / National Security Internet / World Wide Web Judicial Process / Court Cases / Court Decisions Privacy / Data Protection

Authors: Hosenball, Mark and Holden, Michael

Published: July 2019

URL: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-fiveeyes-britain-idUSKCN1UP199

Abstract: In July of 2019, Reuters Staff reported on a statement made that week by the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance that “Tech companies should include mechanisms in the design of their encrypted products and services whereby governments, acting with appropriate legal authority, can obtain access to data in a readable and usable format.” Following a two-day summit in London, the five allied States reached an agreement with tech industry officials to “collaborate with the Five Eyes on a set of voluntary principles . . . on steps to combat child sex abuse, including the growing threat of livestreaming.” However, the agreement did not appear to feature the encryption backdoors requested by the nations’ intelligence agencies nor did it appear that any deal was likely, as tech firms have continued to warn that “putting ‘backdoors’ into their systems to allow authorities access would weaken security and make them more vulnerable to attacks from criminals or foreign states.”