EVASIVE

Obama Won’t Back Encryption Legislation

Administration reportedly remains divided on issue.

The Obama administration is refusing to publicly support draft legislation that would force tech companies to help authorities crack encrypted data, sources familiar with the discussion told Reuters on Wednesday. Though President Obama indicated last month that he might agree that law enforcement should have a way to access encrypted data after the Department of Justice tried to force Apple to break into a San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, the administration reportedly remains divided on the issue, sources said. The measure is sponsored by Sens. Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and could be introduced as early as this week. The Justice Department ended its legal action against Apple last week, saying that it found a way to break into the phone.