I’ve covered this before but, again, the DHS Secretary is wrong. Jeh Johnson claims during the 2015 RSA security conference that law enforcement needs access to encrypted data for public safety reasons, but he fails to consider that the Bill of Rights addresses this issue already. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated” Courts have also ruled that this includes a variety of electronic communications. Back in 2009 Missouri also passed a Constitutional amendment to affirm the electronic right to privacy.
Why should the government be given basically unrestricted access to our personal belongings? The 4th Amendment already permits the issuance of warrants for searching ones belongings, but it seems DHS wants to eliminate that step. If communication is encrypted then it is up to the government to find another way. That is the nature of how our government is supposed to work. We should not be required to give up our privacy. Benjamin Franklin once made a statement along the lines of “He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security.” I would argue that without knowing the future, this is the exact type of situation Franklin was referring to.
(h/t The Blaze)
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