By Sean Sposito, San Francisco Chronicle
At a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Silicon Valley, top tech companies met Friday with high-ranking federal officials to discuss a potential collaboration in the fight against terrorism.
Representatives from Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and other firms gathered in San Jose to meet a Washington cadre that included White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, FBI Director James Comey and National Intelligence Director James Clapper, according to reports.
Leaked government documents and agendas for a meeting hinted that the discussion would include encryption — a hot-button issue that has pitted privacy-seekers against lawmakers — among other less controversial measures to thwart terror groups.
“We are interested in exploring all options with you for how to deal with the growing threat of terrorists and other malicious actors using technology, including encrypted technology, to threaten our national security and public safety,” read a White House briefing reportedly passed out to participants and provided to the Intercept.
Reuters broke news of the meeting Thursday evening. An agenda leaked to the Guardian outlined talking points.
Among them: making it more difficult for terrorists to recruit; promoting “alternative content that would undercut ISIL”; making it harder for terrorists to coordinate attacks using the Internet; and dreaming up ways to possibly measure counterterror efforts.
Such meetings between federal officials and tech firms aren’t unheard of, but this one comes as recent incidents have stoked fear about the use of technology in attacks.
The U.S. intelligence community has used that fear as ammunition in its long-standing push to weaken the built-in methods that safeguard digital communication from eavesdroppers.
In the memo obtained by the Intercept, federal officials recognize that there is no “one-size-fits-all solution.” It asks tech executives in attendance to seek a framework on which everyone can agree.
Despite that openness, privacy advocates say they have been left out of the loop.
“I acknowledge that we have a terrorist problem,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum in San Diego. “I acknowledge we need solutions, but let’s have a democratic conversation about it.”
The debate, she argued, should be happening in a public forum, not in private.
©2016 the San Francisco Chronicle Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
