The WSJ, which has seen an advance copy of a speech being made by Attorney General Loretta Lynch later today, says that while she strongly hints at being on the FBI’s side of the dispute, she will not directly say so. This somewhat surprising fact may reflect her audience – a cybersecurity conference whose delegates are likely to be on Apple’s side.

In her speech, Ms. Lynch won’t explicitly take on the encryption issue or Apple, but instead will promise continuing “frank dialogue and fruitful partnership” between the government and the industry on issues of cybersecurity.

Lynch’s remarks, though, do make it clear on which side her sympathies fall …

The going-dark problem is a very real threat to law enforcement’s mission to protect public safety and ensure that criminals are caught and held accountable. We owe it to the victims and to the public, whose safety we must protect, to ensure we have done everything under the law to fully investigate terrorist attacks and criminal activity on American soil […] As recent events have made clear, the stakes aren’t theoretical; they bear directly upon our public safety and our national security.

‘Going dark’ is the government’s term for people’s ability to use strong encryption to communicate in ways the government is unable to monitor.

Congress will be hearing from both FBI director James Comey and Apple’s top lawyer Bruce Sewell later today.

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