Pressure rises on Silicon Valley to help fight terrorism

A top French official is spending his week trying to convince top Silicon Valley companies to ease their encryption, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Government officials — including those in the U.S., Britain and France — have been urging major tech players to give government access to their data in an effort to quell the rise of terrorist groups.

{mosads}That plea is one Silicon Valley is hearing more often, as Islamist extremist groups become savvy with social media, and following the terrorist attacks at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the country’s top cop, will meet with Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter on Friday to make his case.

“We are facing a new threat,” Cazeneuve told the Journal. “We need tech companies to realize that they have an important role to play.”

Tech giants have grown wary of guaranteeing government officials access to their data. In an era of ongoing revelations of intrusive government snooping continue, companies argue they must maintain strict privacy standards to retain users’ trust.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made his case for inaccessible encryption during Friday’s White House cybersecurity summit, directly preceding President Obama’s remarks. Obama has come out in favor of some sort of government access to monitor possible terrorist activity on social networking sites.

Extremist groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), use sites like Twitter and YouTube to post propaganda and communicate with potential recruits.

European leaders believe some of this messaging, such as ISIS videos depicting the beheadings of foreign hostages, should be censored.

“What would be the interest of tech companies in broadcasting hateful images that incite terrorism?” Cazeneuve said.

On Friday, he’ll press Silicon Valley for an answer.