Data security

FBI, Justice officials take encryption concerns to Congress

Federal law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that data encryption is making it harder to hunt for pedophiles and terror suspects, telling senators that consumers’ right to privacy is not absolute and must be weighed against public-safety interests.

The testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee marked the latest front in a high-stakes dispute between the Obama administration and some of the world’s most influential tech companies, placing squarely before Congress an ongoing discussion that has shown no signs of an easy resolution. Senators, too, offered divided opinions.