2% 3.30551, I i, many ,u was w-"J .. ijt? Fri letrd Status Smart Zilk?lf?v?llf fut.- (JN Hill mm: Ir, norm. on: October 8, 2015 Via Electronic Transmission The Honorable Sally Q. Yates Deputy Attorney General US Department of Justice 950 Ave., NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Deputy Attorney General Yates: On July 8, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled ?Going Dark: Technology, and the Balance between Public Safety and Privacy.? At that hearing, you testi?ed that widespread inviolable was a ?growing threat to public safety? and that ?we must ?nd a solution to this pressing problem, and we need to ?nd it soon.? Senators expressed similar concerns about the problem and pressed you about potential solutions. At several points, you stated that you intended to pursue a collaborative and cooperative approach with technology providers in the hopes of addressing the problem and avoiding a ?one-size-?ts-all legislative solution? that you would ?essentially cram down the throats of the technology industry.? Nevertheless, you repeatedly stated that you did not ?ru1[e] out a legislative solution if that?s ultimately what?s necessary? and that while you were ?not suggesting a legislative solution today,? such a solution ?may ultimately be necessary.? Since the hearing, however, two articles have appeared in the Washington Post that question the Administration?s commitment to a potential legislative solution or to pursuing any solution at all. On September 16, the Washington Post reported that the Administration had ?backed away from seeking a legislative ?x to deal with the rise of on communications, and they are even weighing whether to publicly reject a law requiring ?rms to be able to unlock their customer?s smartphones or apps under court order.?1 And on September 24, the Post also reported that, shortly after the hearing, the Administration tasked a working group with analyzing possible technical approaches to address the problem.2 That working group identi?ed four ?technically feasible? solutions that, according to its own assessment, might bene?t from ?substantial revision and re?nement.? Nevertheless, the Post reported that ?senior of?cials do not intend to advance the solutions as ?administration proposals? or even want them shared outside the government? because ?they fear blowback? from technology providers. In fact, the spokesman for the National Security Council had expressly declared ?these proposals are not being pursued.? 1 Ellen Nakashima and Andrea Peterson, ?Obama Faces Growing Momentum to Support Widespread The Washington Post, Sept. 16, 2015. 2 Ellen Nakashima and Andrea Peterson, ?Obama Administration Quietly Explored Ways to Bypass Smartphone The Washington Post, Sept. 24, 2015. The Honorable Sally Q. Yates Page 2 of 2 I believe that the Administration should use every lawful tool at its disposal and vigorously investigate each and every potential solution to this serious problem, as your testimony before the Committee implied it would. And as you will recall, members of the Committee offered their support and assistance in your ongoing efforts with technology providers, and asked to be advised of the status of those discussions. Moreover, countries like Great Britain and France are much further along in their national dialogues on how best to balance privacy and public safety with regard to and are currently contemplating speci?c legislative proposals to address the threat posed by widespread inviolable I respectfully request that the Department provide my staff (1) a brie?ng on the status of your discussions with technology providers, (2) a brie?ng on the speci?c ?investigation involving guns and drugs? that the New York Times reported was thwarted by as previously requested in my letter of September 10,3 and (3) responses to my questions for the record that followed the hearing, which were due to the Committee on July 30. Sincerely, Charles E. Grassley Chairman Senate Committee on the Judiciary 3 Matt Apuzzo, David E. Sanger and Michael S. Schmidt, ?Apple and Other Tech Companies Tangle With US. Over Data Access,? The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2015.