A judge would have ruled in a closed session that Facebook does not have to unlock the content of telephone conversations via Messenger for the US government. The latter wanted to be able to tap these for the purpose of an investigation.
This is reported by Reuters news agency, based on sources familiar with the ruling of the judge in the American state of California. The case was brought by the US government over a criminal investigation into criminal youth gangs. The authorities would like to listen in on the telephone conversations via the voice call service in Messenger of 16 suspected gang members.
The FBI reportedly warned that there is currently no way for authorities to monitor what suspects are doing on Facebook Messenger’s calling service. A statement specifically referred to three phone calls made via Messenger, but the contents of which the FBI was unable to access. Incidentally, messages sent via Messenger would be transparent to the authorities.
In a closed session last month, the judge ruled that Facebook does not have to give up the encryption of the communication service, so that the American government services cannot eavesdrop. According to Reuters, it is not known what reasoning underlies the judgment. However, Facebook had argued that it does not need to let the authorities listen in because it is an internet company, not a telecom company. As a result, Facebook would be exempted from the mandatory cooperation in eavesdropping by authorities, according to Reuters.
The FBI has long struggled with encryption in messaging and voice services. Some time ago, the then director of the FBI indicated that he expected to conduct more lawsuits in the future over encryption.