FBI renews call for wider wiretap powers

FBI chief James Comey (seen above) renewed a call Thursday for broader authority to tap into emerging technologies, saying the Edward Snowden revelations have led to unwarranted mistrust of law enforcement. Comey said revelations about widespread surveillance have led to a climate which could hinder the ability to catch criminals and terrorists, underscored by new efforts to encrypt smartphones to make them inaccessible to investigators, even with a warrant.

Perhaps it’s time to suggest that the post-Snowden pendulum has swung too far in one direction - in a direction of fear and mistrust.

FBI chief James Comey

Comey’s comments sought to renew the debate about the FBI “going dark,” or being unable to access encrypted calls and messages from new apps and services which fall outside the traditional realm of “wiretaps.” The FBI had been calling for changes to the U.S. law covering wiretapping in 2013, but that debate was shelved after the revelations from former NSA contractor Snowden in June last year about vast surveillance of telephone and online communications. Comey said the leaked Snowden documents exaggerated the capabilities of agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

There will come a day - and it comes every day in this business - where it will matter a great deal to innocent people that we in law enforcement can’t access certain types of data or information.

FBI chief James Comey

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