WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice of the tech sector, issued the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield in reaction to the discussion draft of the “Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016,” which, among other things, would require technology companies to provide data to law enforcement in an unencrypted format.

“We are pleased that this legislation is only a draft because it requires more thinking and more work,” said ITI President and CEO Dean Garfield. “We share Senators Burr and Feinstein’s commitment to protecting our country, but unfortunately the proposed policy is misguided and will ultimately lead to increased insecurity rather than increased security.”

“Our ability to constantly innovate and deploy strong security technology is key to protecting not just people’s privacy, but their security – including their physical security. We must constantly innovate to stay at least one step ahead of those who would do us harm. This proposal would actually freeze in place the technology we need for protection, leaving all of us extraordinarily vulnerable.”

ITI has advised Congress on what it needs to know about encryption recently in its TechWonk Blog post by Director of Legislative Affairs and Legislative Counsel Shannon Taylor, which can be read here.


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