Prosecutors from four countries sound the alarm on encrypted communications

Record ID: 84184

  • Title: Prosecutors from four countries sound the alarm on encrypted communications
  • Date: 21st October 2016
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) PARIS PROSECUTOR, FRANCOIS MOLINS, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE FOLLOWED BY SPANISH HIGH COURT CHIEF PROSECUTOR, JAVIER ZARAGOZA, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FREDRIC VAN LEEUW, AND RABAT GENERAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AT APPEALS COURT, MOULAY EL HASSAN DAKI VARIOUS MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS PROSECUTOR, FRANCOIS MOLINS, SAYING: "I think it is obvious to everyone that the answer to the issue of encryption cannot be a national response but one that involves several countries, which have recourse to network operators or electronic communication providers that are not necessarily based in France, in Belgium or in Spain, they are elsewhere, so there is a need for a global response. Today a certain number of prosecutors have expressed this position in Europe -- the four of us already -- may I remind you that there are also some in the United States, we've spoken about that recently." HASSAN DAKI DURING NEWS CONFERENCE PROSECUTORS LISTENING TO QUESTION FROM REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS PROSECUTOR, FRANCOIS MOLINS, SAYING: "You have cases where we are faced with mobile phones we cannot access. Knowing the information contained in telephones is important because it can allow us to stop people committing crimes, to dismantle cells and to find the people we are looking for faster because they've committed an attack." JOURNALISTS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS PROSECUTOR, FRANCOIS MOLINS, SAYING: "Today there are mobile apps we don't even requisition anymore because we know in advance that we will not receive a reply. And that is something to realise, it is a factor which paralyses some investigations." ZARAGOZA DURING NEWS CONFERENCE END OF NEWS CONFERENCE, PROSECUTORS LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 5th November 2016 13:58
  • Keywords: prosecutors Islamic State attacks France Francois Molins Paris Telegram Belgium Spain Morocco
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
  • Reuters ID: LVA00154Y89JB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Counter-terrorist prosecutors from France, Belgium, Morocco and Spain sounded the alarm on Friday (October 21) by appealing to "the highest national and international authorities" about communication encryptions and the locking of electronic devices which they say interferes with certain investigations.
    Together, they published a common declaration on the issue after a two-day annual meeting, during which they also exchanged information on ongoing cases in all four countries.
    "I think it is obvious to everyone that the answer to the issue of encryption cannot be a national response but one that involves several countries, which have recourse to network operators or electronic communication providers that are not necessarily based in France, in Belgium or in Spain, they are elsewhere, so there is a need for a global response," Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.
    According to the four prosecutors, information protection is an "essential right" but the threat of terrorism justifies the need for investigators to have access to encrypted information in certain cases.
    "You have cases where we are faced with mobile phones we cannot access. Knowing the information contained in telephones is important because it can allow us to stop people committing crimes, to dismantle cells and to find the people we are looking for faster because they've committed an attack," Molins said.
    The use of the mobile app Telegram by jihadists to spread propaganda and communicate with each other has reopened the debate in recent months.
    "Today there are mobile apps we don't even requisition anymore because we know in advance that we will not receive a reply. And that is something to realise, it is a factor which paralyses some investigations," Molins said without citing any examples.
    In August, Paris and Berlin, called for the implementation of regulations on a European level, obligating encrypted message operators to cooperate with the EU member states on terrorist related investigations.
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