U.S. Government Reportedly Wants Facebook To Break Messenger Encryption

The U.S. government has reportedly been trying to get Facebook to break the encryption in its Messenger app in an ongoing criminal probe so that the law enforcement agencies can listen to a suspects voice conversations. This has once again sparked the debate about whether or not companies can be forced to change the security parameters of their services to aid surveillance which would help law enforcement close ongoing cases.

The unreported case is proceeding in a federal court in California under seal which means that no filings are publicly available. Reuters hears from three people briefed on the case that Facebook is contesting the demand put forward by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Arguments on a government motion to hold Facebook in contempt of court for not carrying out the surveillance request were heard earlier this week in court. Facebook and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the matter.

One of the sources cited in the report said that this issue arose in Fresno, California as part of an investigation into the MS-13 gang. The government is seeking a wiretap of ongoing voice conversations of one person on Messenger.

Facebook has argued that voice calls in Messenger are encrypted end-to-end which means that only the two parties in that conversation can listen in.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Web
Tags: Facebook