FBI suddenly cancels Capitol Hill briefing on warrant-proof encryption

The FBI unexpectedly cancelled two briefings about encryption on Monday, which were scheduled for later this week, without offering any explanation.

The briefings were the second part of the FBI's series for Capitol Hill staffers titled "priority topics," and would have focused on how encryption has created challenges for the federal bureau when investigating “violent crimes against children and transnational organized crime,” per Politico. The first in the series was held last month, and focused on the fentanyl crisis.

The two briefings, scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, have been indefinitely delayed but no further details on the reason for the cancellation have been released.  The FBI said it hopes to reschedule the briefings at a later date.

“Regrettably, due to circumstances outside of the FBI’s control, the briefings on the FBI’s Efforts on Warrant-Proof Encryption which were originally scheduled for June 18th and June 20th, have been unexpectedly postponed,” an email announcing the cancellation said. “The FBI sees tremendous value in informing Congress on various issues and especially recognizes the importance of this particular topic, so we deeply apologize for any inconvenience to those who were planning to participate.”

The FBI has urged tech companies like Apple to provide a backdoor for law enforcement officers to legally access encrypted data if they have a search warrant. But tech companies have expressed concern that adding a backdoor on social media sites could make private data more easily accessible for hackers and other cybercriminals.

The FBI said that encryption software used in apps like Signal have made it harder to monitor communications on those apps by criminals, including terrorists and child sex traffickers.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.