You did it.
Thanks to you, today we reached 100,000 signatures on our petition asking President Obama to stand up for strong encryption. Now the White House must respond.
The petition, hosted at https://SaveCrypto.org using the White House’s “We the People” API, calls on the president to reject any law, policy, or mandate that would undermine our security. Any “We the People” petition that meets the 100,000-signature threshold in under 30 days is guaranteed an official response, generally within 60 days. (You can see the details on response time here).
Over the past year, the White House has been considering asking Congress for legislation to require technology companies to weaken the encryption in their products, giving a “golden key” to law enforcement. While The Washington Post andThe New York Times reported that the Obama administration has decided not to press for legislation at this time, there’s no guarantee that the administration will not pursue a legislative package in the future. Notably, the administration has not yet made an official policy statement on the issue. This leaves ample room for law enforcement to pressure companies to weaken encryption and undermine the privacy rights and trust of internet users.
The Save Crypto campaign was launched by Access Now and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to ask the president to stand up for internet users by making a public declaration in support of strong encryption, and to disavow any attempts to force companies to weaken encryption.
The debate over encryption is at the heart of the larger conversation over the future of the internet. Will we be able to rely on encryption to protect our safety and security online, and enable us to enjoy fundamental human rights in the digital age? Or will it be undermined, putting all of us at risk?
Now, 100,000 internet users have spoken, and the message is clear: We want President Obama to step forward now to support strong security online.
We look forward to the president’s swift response.