Five Eyes Responds To Open Letter Demanding Respect For Encryption

New Zealand’s Response
Signed by Hon. Christopher Finlayson, it acknowledges receipt of the letter and, in its offer for future meetings, underlines the importance of the issue.

What did we learn?

Attorney General Finlayson explains that he has asked two top officials — the Director of National Security Policy and the Director of the National Cyber Policy — to meet with the New Zealand-based groups that signed the coalition letter, signifying a continued interest in the issue.

What to do next?

With New Zealand’s 2017 elections, the groups listed in the letter have not yet had the opportunity to meet with the cabinet members. Government leaders should now schedule and open up these meetings to additional stakeholders in New Zealand, as well as to international experts. In addition, they should invite other ministers, like the Minister for Trade and the Minister for Science and Innovation, to participate.

Canada’s Response
Signed by Hon. Ralph Goodale, it lays out the central issues in the debate over encryption, explaining both that its use has “created significant challenges for law enforcement and national security agencies,” as well as that it is of “fundamental important—for cyber security, for the digital economy, and for the exercise of Canadian’s rights and freedoms online.”

What did we learn?

It explains that the Canadian government will continue to analyse encryption and consider steps for government. He also commits to keeping encryption within the priorities of the Five Eyes countries.

What to do next?

The Canadian government has yet to commit to a public position on encryption, while clearly continuing to view the issue as a priority and one to be advanced through the Five Eyes partnership. Before formulating its position, Public Safety Canada should reach out to experts on encryption and human rights, such as U.N. Special Rapporteur David Kaye.

United Kingdom’s Response
Signed by U.K Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, it contains the most detail of the three letters. The Home Secretary starts by listing the actions the government has taken in acknowledgement of human rights like privacy and freedom of expression. She then writes in recognition of the role encryption plays in the digital economy and follows that by further recognizing that only a “small minority of people” use encryption to obfuscate communications about crime or terrorism. However, her emphasis is clearly on the ability to ensure access to any communication at any time, which is clear from her statement, “if our law enforcement or security and intelligence agencies cannot see what a terrorist or criminal is planning then they cannot stop them.” Despite this, Secretary Rudd insists this is not her goal:

 
The U.K. Government does not want unfettered access to all communications, and we do not want to be able to decrypt and read everyone’s communications all of the time. We do not want technology companies to create a universal key or a so-called backdoor into their systems. And we have no intention of banning end-to-end encryption or of trying to weaken the security of industry standard encryption that is used to secure the global trade and communications we rely upon in our daily lives. But we do intend to work with the technology companies to better understand the decisions they have made whilst implementing encryption within their services and identify ways for our law enforcement and intelligence services to gain specific information about what serious criminals and terrorists are doing online, without compromising wider safety and security of their systems for lawful users.

What did we learn?

Like Minister Goodale of Canada, Secretary Rudd describes future actions with the Five Eyes countries, while also expanding the coalition of governments the U.K. plans to work with to include the G20 and E.U. member states. We also learn that Secretary Rudd expects encryption to be a topic in the recently launched Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).

What to do next?

Recently, Access Now named Secretary Rudd a human rights villain, alongside Australian Attorney General George Brandis, for her continued public statements opposing the development of strong encryption. Secretary Rudd should include civil society groups, as well as technologists and academics, in the government and corporate forums that she recognizes as places of consultation. She should also commit to reviewing the recently passed Investigatory Powers Act and its accompanying protocols to ensure that U.K. officials will never ask private companies to deliberately undermine the security of their products or services.

United States and Australia’s Response
Officials from the United States and Australia have not yet responded to the coalition letter. Collectively, we encourage officials from these countries to commit to providing a response and pledging to support the development and use of encryption.

 
However, a broader open letter lead by the EFA and other rights groups to all world leaders on the important of encryption, had received a response from a top official of the Australian Cyber Policy and Intelligence Division. It expressed general support for encryption as a critical part of the modern economy, though it noted that criminals have increasingly used encryption to foil law enforcement. Now, however, it appears that Australian officials are actively engaging in conversations about undermining strong encryption. It is therefore vital that relevant agencies and officials meet with members of civil society and others on the central role that encryption plays not only in commerce and protecting human rights, but also in defence.