The FBI says it has given up on trying to get backdoors into encryption software
Speaking at a conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, FBI general council James Baker said that the bureau will give up the "magical thinking" that lead to it seeking a backdoor into all consumer technology, allowing for easy access to sensitive data.
"It's tempting to try to engage in magical thinking and hope that the amazing technology sector we have in the United States can come up with some solution," Baker said. "Maybe that's just a bridge too far. Maybe that is scientifically and mathematically not possible."
The FBI has had a complicated relationship with America's biggest technology companies, which includes Apple, Facebook, and Google, after end-to-end encryption was implemented on iMessage, WhatsApp and various Google products, effectively shutting the FBI out.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken a strong stance on privacy in public, describing it as a "fundamental human right" and rebuffing multiple requests from law enforcement for information.