FBI Director: 'Post-Snowden Mistrust' in Feds Has Gone Too Far

FBI Director James Comey said that it’s time to rein in some of the mistrust of government in the aftermath of the Snowden surveillance revelations, and strike a new balance between privacy and security priorities. "Perhaps it’s time to suggest that the post-Snowden pendulum has swung too far in one direction -- in a direction of fear and mistrust," Comey said at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The programs detailed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden have made Americans believe in "misconceptions" about government collection and use of data, he said. Comey's comments come amid debate over whether companies should need to build in systems that could allow law enforcement access to electronic communications. In March, Google announced that it had improved encryption on its email service, citing “last summer’s revelations.” Comey argued for a “front door” to major communications tech, such as Google email or popular chat apps, that would allow officials authorized by the courts to intercept and read messages –- but said that the technical details would have to be worked out by “smarter people.”

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For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSPhone a friend: Republicans lean on Cabinet members as they break with Trump

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCentrist think tank warns 2028 Democrats against swinging too far left on immigration

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussia’s secrecy after a mysterious plague lab death raises global alarm

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAfter surviving a botched lethal injection, Christa Pike faces unprecedented legal battle

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHunger in a land of plenty: Major food banks face ‘heartbreaking’ need, NBC News survey finds

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERSBrad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

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--- Julianne Pepitone