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NYPD's anti-encryption #UnlockJustice campaign fails big time

The NYPD should probably stop with the hashtag campaigns.

Christina Warren

on April 18, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

As the New York Police Department is finding out, using a hashtag for a controversial campaign isn’t a great idea.

On Monday, Manhattan Attorney General Cyrus R. Valance was joined by crime victims and representatives from the NYPD to form a coalition focused on “highlight[ing] the impact encryption is having on public safety and victims of crime.”

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In a statement, Vance took umbrage at the idea that “the debate over encryption is often referred to in terms of privacy and security, with little regard for the impact on crime victims.”

The press conference, which took place in Manhattan City Hall, comes a few days after the latest legal skirmish between Apple and the Manhattan district attorney. Apple on Friday formally responded to the government’s appeal of a U.S. Magistrate Judge’s ruling in a drug case in Brooklyn. In that case, which is similar to the now-resolved San Bernardino iPhone case, the government is trying to force Apple to help it access the data on an iPhone used in a drug crime.

A U.S. Magistrate already ruled against the government, but the government and Manhattan DA want to appeal.

New York Police Commissioner said that “the creation of a device impervious to a court-ordered warrant undermines our justice system.”

And although the Manhattan DA and NYPD tried to gin up support for the campaign with the hashtag, #UnlockJustice, they might have wanted to think about that tactic a little more.

The hashtag is not full of mentions in support for the campaign but with tweets from security and privacy advocates who support encryption and believe that any legislated end to encryption would hurt public safety and security.

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What makes this campaign even more egregious is that #UnlockJustice already exists. In fact, it was launched to support sentencing reforms.

Whoops.

And really, the NYPD should know better. In 2014, the #myNYPD hashtag was hijacked by users who refocused the conversation on policy brutality, rather than photos of the police with citizens. After that debacle, you would think they would know better than to target a controversial topic (and a technical topic at that) as a social media campaign.

Guess not.

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Topics Cybersecurity