EXPIRED Worldwide Call for Legislation and/or Appropriate Regulation That Mandates Encryption Implementation Regimes That Maintain Reasonable Security of Communications and Stored Data, yet Permit Lawful Access by Law Enforcement Pursuant to the Rule o...
WHEREAS, the use of user and provider-controlled forms of strong encryption applied to communications in transmission and to data storage devices, although simultaneously serving to help prevent certain types of crimes and preserve privacy, has also, with increased frequency, been implemented in such a manner as to significantly degrade the ability of law enforcement worldwide to detect and prevent serious crime before it occurs, as well as inhibit the identification of those responsible for crimes already committed; and
WHEREAS, the expanding implementation of user-only access encryption, in addition to enhancing privacy generally, is also specifically facilitating criminal activity worldwide by ensuring that evidence of crime is beyond the reach of law enforcement despite compliance with legal requirements that authorize the lawful seizure and use of such evidence and information in accordance with the applicable laws of each nation; and
WHEREAS, the expanding implementation of user-only access encryption may be seen by some in the industry as a means of plausibly denying knowledge of and responsibility for the use of their services or devices by criminals, terrorists, and spies so as to potentially obviate any legal obligation to stop or mitigate such harms; and
WHEREAS, it is recognized that providers who implement end-to-end encryption are also under economic pressure to compete with other international providers on a level playing field and that, currently, few governments mandate lawful access to encrypted information in an intelligible format thereby arguably placing those industry providers that voluntarily implement lawful access capabilities at a competitive disadvantage; and
WHEREAS, it is recognized that no one technological solution or process is likely to resolve the myriad of technical applications of encryption and that industry providers are in the best position to determine for each application a workable solution that meets their needs and the needs of their customers while still maintaining lawful access to encrypted information upon due process of law; and
WHEREAS, the IACP has previously noted in its Resolution of November 10, 2010, entitled “Address the Growing Electronic Surveillance Capability Gap” that advances in telecommunications technologies are creating a lawful access capability gap that should be addressed by remedial legislation in the United States to update the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA); and
WHEREAS, the United States Attorney General, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Home Department, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (acting) and the Australian Minister for Home Affairs, in an open letter dated 4 October 2019 to the Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, called upon Facebook and other companies to: embed the safety of the public in system designs, thereby enabling you to continue to act against illegal content effectively with no reduction to safety, and facilitating the prosecution of offenders and safeguarding victims; and enable law enforcement to obtain lawful access to content in a readable and usable format. Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the IACP strongly urges all world governments to adopt appropriate regulation or legislation that will compel industry providers to responsibly implement for themselves encryption technologies in a manner that maintains reasonable privacy protections for individuals while securely and timely permitting lawful access to communications and communication-related information in transmission, as well as other information in digital storage, and in an intelligible format pursuant to the legal requirements of each nation and due process of law.
Submitted by: Police Investigative Operations Committee and Computer Crimes & Digital Evidence Committee
PIO.23.19
Related Content
EXPIRED 4.9 GHz Public Safety Radio Spectrum
Submitted by the Communications & Technology Committee
Co-Sponsored by the Computer Crime and Digital Evidence Committee and the Aviation Committee
WHEREAS the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) continues advocating for use of our Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), using dedicated 700 MHz radio spectrum, passed by Congress, and President signing, Public Law 112-96 on February 22, 2012; and
WHEREAS the IACP continues to be a strong supporter and participant in implementation and progress of public safety with many agencies using the NPSBN now commonly referred to as FirstNet; and
WHEREAS the FirstNet NPSBN continues to leverage technologies to build public trust as an interoperability leader, providing value to members of IACP and the entire public safety community across America; and
WHEREAS cellular communications technology has evolved into 5th Generation (5G) technology advancing and expanding 4th Generation (4G) technologies, which offer greater possibilities for dealing with innovation like Next Generation 911 between caller, dispatch and first responder; and
WHEREAS it will be beneficial to public safety for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate additional radio spectrum to current FirstNet spectrum to enable implementation of 5G technology in FirstNet’s NPSBN for prioritized public safety use; and
WHEREAS, 4.9 GHz radio spectrum, allocated by the FCC since 2002 as dedicated public safety spectrum and FCC continues deliberations for 4.9GHz future use, due to FCC’s expressed concerns of 4.9 GHz current underutilization by public safety; and
WHEREAS the IACP consistently supports these principles in those discussions:
- The FCC must protect and preserve all 4.9 GHz spectrum for nationwide public safety use,
- Incumbent public safety 4.9 GHz licensees must be protected,
- The FCC should assign 4.9 GHz spectrum to a single nationwide licensee and band manager on behalf of public safety,
- The FCC should leverage this very successful FirstNet experience and assign all nationwide 4.9 GHz license(s) to the FirstNet Authority to achieve a single nationwide license and band manager,
- The band manager is held accountable by and is responsive to the needs of police through the development and maintenance of this network.
now therefore be it;
RESOLVED, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) supports these principles and will continue to participate in discussions to achieve a positive long-term public safety utilization for 4.9 GHz radio spectrum to better serve the public, and build public trust through disciplined increased public safety use and technologies.
Digital Evidence Task Force
The expansion of communications technology means that crime scenes are often digital rather than physical, which poses a growing challenge to investigators. In addition, physical crime scenes—the ones that state and local law enforcement respond to every day—are much more complex than ever before. Crime scenes from homicides, kidnappings, assaults, property crimes and incidents of domestic violence — crimes that impact thousands of victims, families, and communities annually—now, more often than not, include digital evidence.
