It has been interesting to see lately how Apple and Google have effectively started competing on privacy -- both companies announcing recently that new encryption standards used on their latest OS's and devices mean they'll no longer unlock devices at the behest of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Not too surprisingly this shift has annoyed the FBI; the agency's James Comey not so subtly insisting that both Google and Apple are putting people's lives at risks.

Comey upped his rhetoric this week, complaining that Congress needs to pass new laws forcing companies like Apple and Google to hand over the encryption keys or else:

quote:

---

"We also need a regulatory or legislative fix to create a level playing field, so that all communication service providers are held to the same standard and so that those of us in law enforcement, national security, and public safety can continue to do the job you have entrusted us to do, in the way you would want us to."

---

Mike Masnick at Techdirt does a pretty fantastic job breaking down Comey's claims this week, noting that the "level playing field" Comey lusts after has always historically slanted in favor of the FBI -- at the cost of privacy and often security. You'll recall this was the same agency that worked closely with AT&T to violate the law repeatedly, and the same government that currently taps all communications, everywhere, constantly. As Masnick notes, Apple and Google returning some privacy power back to the public is actually what's leveling the playing field out.