Encryption debate takes back seat in N.C. Senate race | News & Observer

Government access to peoples’ phones in the name of national security hasn’t caused much friction yet on North Carolina’s campaign trail, but the state’s senior senator and his Democratic challenger have drawn their battle lines on the matter, says one political science expert.

“It is a very polarized issue for them,” Meredith College professor David McLennan said of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, and Deborah Ross, a former state representative who is the Democrat picked to try and unseat Burr this fall.

Nationally, two public opinion polls show a divide among Americans on the issue of whether companies like Apple – maker of the iPhone – should have to comply with court orders when the federal government needs help getting around a device’s encryption security software.

In a Pew Research Center poll, just more than half of 1,002 survey respondents believed Apple should help the FBI gain access to the San Bernardino iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed sided with Apple. The rest were unsure.

An online poll by Reuters/Ipsos showed about 46 percent of those who responded supported Apple’s defiance of the court order. In that poll, 35 percent of people sided with the FBI; 20 percent were unsure. Both polls were conducted in February, before the FBI dropped its case against Apple.

Both polls also showed younger people were more likely to say Apple should not be forced by the government to unlock a customer’s phone.

In North Carolina, McLennan said, there’s little surprise so far in the way the debate has unfolded between Burr and Ross.

Burr, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, is floating a bill to make sure encryption technology doesn’t impede national security experts who are investigating terror. Ross, a former civil liberties attorney, says safety is her top concern – but that she wants to make sure the government won’t trample consumer privacy.

Privacy rights versus national security has long been a political debate. Earlier this year, the issue was reignited when the FBI tried to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone that belonged to one of the shooters involved in the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting. Later, the government dropped its request after a third party cracked the encryption.

Young voters, especially, McLennan said, are paying attention. Still, he said, the debate isn’t shaping the Senate race, yet.

Burr and Ross are in the “dog days” of their campaigns, McLennan said, with the election more than six months away. Right now, North Carolina voters seem to have other political issues on their minds – like the state’s controversial HB2 law related to transgender bathroom use.

Whether the encryption debate persists and becomes “the” issue in the campaign may depend on Ross’ ability to appeal to consumers who are sensitive to privacy protection on their phones, McLennan said.

And, for Burr, there’s a lot riding on the success of his proposed legislation, which is also backed by the leading Democrat on the intelligence committee, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

Here’s a look at what Burr and Ross say about the issue:

Both Ross and Burr say they believe no company should be “above the law” and that national security is their top priority.

Burr has chided iPhone maker Apple’s CEO for refusing to help the FBI in the San Bernardino case.

His and Feinstein’s legislation would require tech companies to comply with court orders for government access to certain data, including a way around the strictest security features developed for communication devices. Such a law would deal a serious blow to legal arguments that the government cannot make companies such as Apple circumvent encryption.

Burr’s office declined a request for an interview.

But his campaign has used the encryption debate to attack Ross, claiming that she dodged questions about the issue during a recent TV interview in North Carolina.

Ross said in an interview with McClatchy that when there’s a threat and national security officials need access to a locked device, “I want the government to have that information.” But, she said, how the government gets that information matters, too.

Ross – a former director of North Carolina’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union – said the debate raises important constitutional questions. Ross says she thinks the United States – specifically consumers, lawmakers and “the tech community” – need to have a full debate. “One of the things that is unfortunate is that people want an immediate answer to a complicated issue.”