WASHINGTON — November 24, 2015 — The November 13 attacks in Paris were tragic, and our hearts and thoughts are with the people of Paris. We stand ready to work with law enforcement to prevent future such horrific incidents. Such efforts will require creative solutions that benefit public safety as well as online security.

There has been a good deal of discussion in recent days suggesting that encryption is the single factor that enables terrorists. That is not the case.

Encryption – rather than something to be feared – is a valuable tool millions of people rely on every day to secure their online privacy, and is a fundamental building block of enabling this security. People should be safe, both as they go about their day-to-day lives and when they’re online, and encryption is vital to ensuring that safety. Government should not be pushing for solutions that would make the online environment less secure.

In the coming weeks and months and into the future, as the threats we face and the technology we develop continues to evolve, we all need to work together to create a safe and secure society in which we want to live.