# Oh Obama LOL (back door for encryption) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 4, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218 "2015-03-04T19:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/1 "2015-03-04T19:21:05Z")
So, we want back-doors to encryption, Obama says. The rest of the world says :“Hey dude, do you know what your are saying?” Obama: “Sure, we want back-door magic encryption keys and a farting unicorn.” China says: “That’s a neat idea, we think we will do the same. Cheers Obama!” Obama: “Hey No! You cannot do that! National Security yo, check!” The World: "Ha ha ha ha ha 🙂 " > **[President Obama Complains To China About Demanding Backdoors To Encryption…...](https://www.techdirt.com/2015/03/03/president-obama-complains-to-china-about-demanding-backdoors-to-encryption-as-his-adminisration-demands-same-thing/)** > > Back in January, we pointed out that just after US and EU law enforcement officials started freaking out about mobile encryption and demanding backdoors, that China was also saying that it wanted t… Seriously, just WHEN will they realize that the world is racing past them while they bicker? Oh, I guess you want a debate right? OK, If the cap fits, should you wear it? In other words, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Is anyone still of the opinion that that this American exceptionalism is dragging us all down - slowly, but quite frankly, surely? ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/2 "2015-03-04T19:27:31Z")
> [@JimNightshade](#): > > Is anyone still of the opinion that that this American exceptionalism is dragging us all down - slowly, but quite frankly, surely? No. Not of that opinion. I think China does what China does regardless of what the USA (or Obama?) has done before. You know you can discuss the issue without turning it into something Blame Obama. It was stupid when it was Bush, and it’s stupid now that it’s Obama. ---
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/3 "2015-03-04T19:58:28Z")
The thing is Rune, that it’s stupid. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/4 "2015-03-04T20:10:19Z")
Encryption the government can break is encryption anyone can break. When they say they want back doors, they’re saying they don’t want encryption. Can’t have your cake and eat it, too. And no, this has nothing to do with Obama, who probably doesn’t even know what encryption is or why it is useful. It’s just more Luddism from the government. Both parties are equally ignorant and equally guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/5 "2015-03-04T20:12:36Z")
Moderator Note: JIM Nightshade, please give your threads descriptive titles. I have edited the title to tell people what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/6 "2015-03-04T20:16:43Z")
Ok, Guadere, sorry about that (and thanks for fixing the thread title). I just find the hypocrisy amazing, and lets forget whoever is in charge. From an outsider’s view it is mind boggling. Also, did no one learn to spell in school? ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/7 "2015-03-04T23:56:31Z")
Says the guy who just misspelled my name and left out an apostrophe. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/8 "2015-03-05T00:11:35Z")
There oughta be a law about that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/9 "2015-03-05T02:51:05Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Encryption the government can break is encryption anyone can break. When they say they want back doors, they’re saying they don’t want encryption. Can’t have your cake and eat it, too. > > And no, this has nothing to do with Obama, who probably doesn’t even know what encryption is or why it is useful. It’s just more Luddism from the government. Both parties are equally ignorant and equally guilty. Actually, if you follow the link and the links in the link, you’ll see that President Obama has some pretty strong (and well thought out) opinions about encryption. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/10 "2015-03-05T15:59:30Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > And no, this has nothing to do with Obama, who probably doesn’t even know what encryption is or why it is useful. It’s just more Luddism from the government. Both parties are equally ignorant and equally guilty. This is one of the (relatively few) cases where the blame really does adhere to both major parties, yes. There’s a mix of politicians and bureaucrats elected/appointed by both sides going around setting their hair on fire and screeching that ISIL will behead us all if we don’t bend over and present a back door to Big Brother. It must be particularly embarrassing for them to have [this story](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/03/03/freak-flaw-undermines-security-for-apple-and-google-users-researchers-discover/) pop up now: > [@](#): > > Technology companies are scrambling to fix a major security flaw that for more than a decade left users of Apple and Google devices vulnerable to hacking when they visited millions of supposedly secure Web sites, including [Whitehouse.gov](http://Whitehouse.gov), [NSA.gov](http://NSA.gov) and [FBI.gov](http://FBI.gov). > > _The flaw resulted from a former U.S. government policy that forbade the export of strong encryption and required that weaker “export-grade” products be shipped to customers in other countries_, say the researchers who discovered the problem… > > _(emphasis added)_ The fact that the original source of the problem (back when the White House was occupied by Bill Clinton, admittedly) and the two biggest sources of alarmist propaganda (both then and now) are the ones listed as bitten by the bug is just icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/11 "2015-03-05T16:53:52Z")
So, like, if you use Gnu PGP, the code generates two very big numbers, you give one to your friends, they use that to encrypt stuff that can only be decrypted with your number. How would you put a back door into that? Does the government want to outlaw Gnu PGP? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/12 "2015-03-05T17:02:49Z")
> [@JimNightshade](#): > > I just find the hypocrisy amazing, and lets forget whoever is in charge. From an outsider’s view it is mind boggling. I am amazed there are still people who are mind-boggled when they encounter hypocrisy in politics. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/13 "2015-03-05T17:09:50Z")
The UK recently made the exact same request, and received the exact same response: a resounding “Fuck You!” ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/14 "2015-03-05T17:57:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I am amazed there are still people who are mind-boggled when they encounter hypocrisy in politics. Exactly. Me putting spies in your country is vital for my country’s security. You putting spies into my country is intolerable. This has been true for every country back through all of time. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/15 "2015-03-05T19:11:22Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > So, like, if you use Gnu PGP, the code generates two very big numbers, you give one to your friends, they use that to encrypt stuff that can only be decrypted with your number. How would you put a back door into that? Does the government want to outlaw Gnu PGP? Of course all security programmers in every company would be forced to change their software and/or hardware for this plan to work. Back in the 90s there was the idea of a “key escrow”, where you had to register all your private keys with the FBI and they would safeguard them until you (or someone you talked to once) committed some crime which gave them probable cause to search your hard drive and emails. There was also the idea of a computer chip that did this automatically by saving encryption keys in such a way that only “authorized” government agents could obtain them when needed. Both ideas are naive horse hockey, but they sound good to the uneducated and inexperienced, aka politicians. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/16 "2015-03-06T14:30:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Does the government want to outlaw Gnu PGP? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-obama-lol-back-door-for-encryption/714218/17 "2015-03-06T14:33:09Z")
> [@JimNightshade](#): > > So, we want back-doors to encryption, Obama says. > > The rest of the world says :“Hey dude, do you know what your are saying?” Which rest of the world? Not David Cameron, presumably, who said that there shouldn’t be any form of communications the PTB can’t tap: [How has David Cameron caused a storm over encryption? | Encryption | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/15/david-cameron-encryption-anti-terror-laws)