Banning encryption is digital equivalent of banning books

John Shinal | Special for USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — The widespread dissemination of ideas can disrupt society and subvert the power of those at its top.

Gutenberg's printing press, for example, helped spur the Protestant Reformation that over time helped overturn the religious and political order of Europe.

In an often-bloody process that took about 400 years, the authoritarian empires that ruled the continent gave way to modern, democratic nation-states.

Books have been banned (and burned) precisely because new ideas are a threat to the people in charge.

As powerful elites from across the globe prepare to gather for the World Economic Forum this week, smartphones and electronic tablets linked to the Internet have become the modern equivalents of mass-produced bibles.

These mobile devices are helping to disseminate not only political ideas but technological literacy and innovation-driven productivity to workers around the globe.

That's a positive development for the world economy and for nascent, democratic political movements.

Yet even as it empowers individuals, the proliferation of connected-consumer technology is making nations and large corporations less secure.

In such uncertain times, as terrorist attacks on civilians and hacker attacks on corporate computer systems increase, the urge to censor ideas is once again on the rise.

Last week, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron proposed a new form of censorship, one that could become the digital equivalent of book-banning.

President Obama has said he favors giving law enforcement backdoor keys to break into encrypted messages.

What Cameron would like to ban is not printed books but rather encrypted texts and e-mails, like those often used by terrorists.

Cameron wrapped his proposal in a speech that stated that the most important thing a government can do for its people is to keep them safe.

I would argue to Cameron that the most important thing a democracy can do for its people is to keep them free.

That means being free to express political opinions and communicate with whomever they want in whatever manner they want.

At times, such freedom comes at a terrible cost — one paid for in blood — as Americans were reminded on Sept. 11, 2001, and as the people of France suffered this month.

But terrorists aren't the only people who favor secret communication. So do government whistle-blowers and political dissidents.

That's why Internet censorship is practiced with great vigor in countries with traditions of violently suppressing political dissent, including China, Russia, North Korea and much of the Middle East.

Cameron's proposal — like China's great Internet firewall and the USA Patriot Act — could trade freedom for a promise of safety. It's also a tacit admission that law-enforcement agencies have fallen behind the technology curve. Rather than modernize them, Cameron would slow down the use of a new technology that can be used by some to promote dangerous ideas.

There's no doubt that the spread of radical Islam is dangerous, given that its adherents persist in murdering civilians. Yet as the printing press and the Reformation showed, such attempts at information control are usually futile over the long run.

What's needed instead is a long-term plan to engage and empower those at risk of being radicalized and using murder to express their political and social grievances.

Let's hope those gathered in Davos, Switzerland, this week can come up with an idea or two for doing so.

Internet consumers who care about online privacy and long-term security should fight any proposal to ban encrypted communication. So should executives or board members who want to discuss their company's strategy or finances behind closed doors.

In the wake of computer attacks that have included the theft of sensitive e-mails, look for more companies to encrypt such internal communications. A proposal like Cameron's would give law enforcement agencies blanket access to those as well.

Americans should be leery of anyone who promises to keep them safe via online censorship and other restrictions on private communication.

History shows that individual freedom and empowerment — not safety at all costs — is the best long-term strategy for nurturing and protecting democracies.

Shinal has covered tech and financial markets for more than 15 years at Bloomberg, BusinessWeek,The San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal Digital Network and others. Follow him on Twitter: @johnshinal.