The Five Eyes Statement on Encryption: Things Are Seldom What They Seem

Tags: 2010s Canada Five Eyes Law Enforcement NZ

Authors: Landau, Susan

Published: September 2018

URL: https://www.lawfareblog.com/five-eyes-statement-encryption-things-are-seldom-what-they-seem

Abstract: This report from Lawfare details a summit of law enforcement officials from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and argues that the rhetoric espoused was far less troubling than it seemed. At the summit, Australian officials detailed an aggressive stance against encryption. However, by ignoring technical realities, the policy proposals are rendered toothless. Therefore, the summit acted as a reflection of the strong push by law enforcement officials to regulate the use of encryption, but the ultimate impracticality of such proposals.