CBS has renewed all three FBI dramas for the 2024-2025 season. Flagship FBI got three more seasons, while FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International are on for next year. 

All three series are produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, in association with CBS Studios. 

“The All-FBI Tuesday is a powerful force to be reckoned with on our primetime schedule,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said. “Dick Wolf and the talent in front of and behind the camera on all three series continue to deliver top-notch storytelling, riveting action and intrigue that has captivated a dedicated fanbase steadily across multiple seasons. We are excited to see what next season holds for all these heroic characters.”

FBI is in season six. Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Jeremy Sisto and Alana De La Garza are in the cast. Dick Wolf, Rick Eid, Alex Chapple, Amanda Slater, Joe Halpin, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.

FBI: Most Wanted is in season five. Dylan McDermott, Shantel VanSanten, Roxy Sternberg and Keisha Castle-Hughes are in the cast. Wolf, David Hudgins, Ken Girotti, Terry Miller, McDermott, Forney and Jankowski are executive producers

FBI: International is in season three. Luke Kleintank, Carter Redwood, Vinessa Vidotto and Christina Wolfe are in the cast. Wolf, Matt Olmstead, Michael Katleman, Ernesto Alcalde, Forney and Jankowski are executive producers. 

“Obviously, I’m thrilled by the pickups,“ Wolf said. “We are all extremely grateful to George [Cheeks, CBS president and CEO] and Amy [Reisenbach] and their entire team.”

CBS hosts an FBI crossover event April 4, as dramas FBI, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted join forces for the three-hour event. The FBI shows, from Dick Wolf, previously did a crossover event in September 2021.  

“As the FBIs continue to dominate on Tuesday nights, we are excited to reward our devoted fans with this special three-hour global crossover event that will bring these three heroic — and popular — teams together for a second time,” Eric Kim, executive VP of current programs for CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios, said. “Our April 4 crossover event will be a non-stop thrilling experience that will keep viewers engaged in ways that only Dick Wolf’s FBI world can.”

FBI: International is on at 8 p.m. ET/PT April 4, FBI is on at 9, and FBI: Most Wanted is on at 10 p.m. CBS has not shared the storylines for that night, other than saying “a high-stakes bicontinental case” is at the center. 

FBI, with Missy Peregrym, is in season five; FBI: International, with Luke Kleintank, is in season two; and FBI: Most Wanted, with Dylan McDermott, is in season four. 

The three series are produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, in association with CBS Studios. ■

A judge has told the Justice Department to make public redacted copies of some documents involving the FBI search/raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, which allegedly turned up boxes of classified documents that should have gone to the National Archives.

CNN et al. had asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to unseal all documents related to the raid, including probable cause support for the warrant. The Justice Department had not wanted those documents made public as it did some other related documents.

In a hearing Thursday, Judge Bruce Reinhart said he was not convinced the FBI search affidavit should remain fully sealed, as Justice had wanted, according to CNN. ■

CBS has renewed all three FBI shows for two additional seasons. The series are FBI, FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted. Dick Wolf created the shows. 

“The FBIs are one of the most successful brands in the entire TV landscape and a powerful cornerstone of our No. 1 lineup,” said Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment. “They’ve attracted a dedicated, loyal fan base, thanks to the extraordinary vision of executive producer Dick Wolf and the talents of all three outstanding casts and creative teams. I know we and our viewers look forward to two additional seasons of engaging, heroic stories.”

FBI averages 10.35 million viewers, according to CBS. Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki and Jeremy Sisto are in the cast. 

FBI: International averages 8.31 million viewers. Luke Kleintank, Heida Reed and Carter Redwood are in the cast. 

FBI: Most Wanted averages 8.85 million viewers. Dylan McDermott, Alexa Davalos and Roxy Sternberg are in the cast. 

“Everybody who works on these three shows is over the moon about the multi-year pickups,” said Wolf. “We are all incredibly grateful to CBS and our partners at Universal Television and CBS Studios. And I personally would like to thank the incredible casts, talented writers and dedicated producers, not to mention three crews who never missed an airdate despite the difficulties of producing full seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.” ■

 The 2001 deadly anthrax attacks are at the heart of National Geographic’s latest original series The Hot Zone: Anthrax, which debuts on the network Nov. 28.

The six-part series, which follows the network’s successful 2019 Hot Zone series that chronicled the origins of the deadly Ebola virus, stars Daniel Dae Kim and Tony Goldwyn and follows the investigation into anthrax-laced letters sent to several companies shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

National Geographic executive VP of global scripted content & documentary films Carolyn Bernstein recently spoke to Multichannel News about the origins of the series, how The Hot Zone: Anthrax compares to the original Hot Zone series, and what’s in store for the Hot Zone franchise going forward. An edited version of the interview appears below.

Picture This: What is the biggest difference between the original Hot Zone series and Hot Zone: Anthrax from a storytelling standpoint?

Carolyn Bernstein: We felt that the story for the original Hot Zone that focused on the Ebola virus coming into the US for the first time really made a lot of sense -- it felt very Nat Geo because at the center of the story was hard science, yet it was also a propulsive, suspense thriller. When that show performed incredibly well for us -- I believe it's our highest-rated scripted series ever -- we started talking about whether there could be a season two and become a franchise like what we did with our Genius anthology series. For it to make sense we needed to find another propulsive, suspense thriller from a storytelling and tone perspective that also had hard science and heroic scientists at the center of the storytelling. The anthrax story, which began in 2001right after the 9/11attacks, really checked those same boxes that season one did.

PT: With the country still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, are you concerned that audiences may not be ready to watch a series that loosely reminds them of what they are going through now?

CB: I think our audience is not one that wants to hide under the covers. They like to look at the truth head-on, so I'm not too worried about it. The amazing thing about the anthrax story is that it has an incredibly heroic FBI agent at its core. He's a character composite of a lot of different FBI agents, but he's a scientist as well. How often do you get to put scientists front and center of storytelling, but also deliver on an FBI-led crime story? So I think audiences are going to embrace it.

PT: How do you walk the fine line between offering fictional elements to a series that’s based on true, fact-based information?

CB: I think audiences are pretty savvy. When you’re telling a story in a scripted series that’s fact-based or based on true events, they know that we take some creative license. Daniel Dae Kim’s FBI agent character is a perfect example. There were a number of FBI agents who were involved in the anthrax investigation over the course of a few years, but what made more sense from a storytelling perspective is to create a composite character that could carry the investigation across all of the episodes. I think audiences are really smart and understand that we do take some creative license, but we always need to get the important facts of the story right. It's a balancing act.

PT: Are you already thinking ahead about what the next Hot Zone might look like?

CB: The answer is yes, we’re thinking about what could work for a season three. We’re definitely not going to continue the anthrax story -- I think this season has a clear beginning, middle and end. We are looking for a suspenseful story to tell for season three that has science and scientists at the center of the storytelling. It’s a tall order, but one place to look is at COVID and what’s happening in our midst today as opposed to a story from the past. I think the reason that we haven’t committed yet is because while we know what the beginning and the middle of the COVID story is, we don’t know what the end is yet. ■

CBS has set premiere dates for its fall 2021-2022 schedule. Starting Monday, Sept. 20, the network will stagger the premieres of its new and returning series over multiple weeks.

Sept. 20 will see the season 4 premiere of The Neighborhood at 8 p.m., the season 3 premiere of Bob Hearts Abishola at 8:30 p.m. , and the 19th season premiere of NCIS at 9 p.m. Spinoff NCIS: Hawai'i will make its series debut in the 10 p.m. Monday slot.

Tuesdays are all about the FBI and Dick Wolf. Starting Sept. 21, season 4 of FBI will premiere at 8 p.m., followed by the season 3 premiere of FBI: Most Wanted at 9 p.m., and the series premiere of FBI: International at 10 p.m. FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International will appear in their regular time periods (10 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively) on Sept. 28.

Survivor will return for its 41st season on Wednesday, Sept. 22 with a special 2-hour episode at 8 p.m. Big Brother will follow at 10 p.m. The season finale of Big Brother will air live at 9 p.m. on Sept. 29. The following Wednesday (Oct. 6) will see the season three debut of Tough as Nails and the series debut of CSI: Vegas.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, CBS has special The Tony Awards Present : Broadway's Back!

S.W.A.T. (season 5), Magnum P.I. (season 4) and Blue Bloods (season 12) return Friday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively. The Activist will take over S.W.A.T.'s Friday slot from Oct. 22. S.W.A.T. will return Dec. 3.

Comedies Young Sheldon (season 5), United States of Al (season 2), Ghosts (series premiere) and B Positive (season 2) will air Thursdays starting Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. The Thursday lineup will end with drama Bull (now in its sixth season) at 10 p.m.

Sophomore series The Equalizer will follow 60 Minutes starting Sunday, Oct. 10. Also airing Sundays starting Oct. 10 are season 13 of NCIS: Los Angeles and season 5 of SEAL Team, which will move to Paramount Plus later in the season.

There isn’t much to celebrate on broadcast TV these days, with one-time ratings magnets such as the Oscars drawing a fraction of the crowd they used to. Dick Wolf dramas, on the other hand, continue to win over sizable audiences. Wolf, the brain behind the multiple-show Law & Order, Chicago and FBI brands, has for decades delivered compelling storytelling, with just the right mix of character development and plot, to keep viewers tuning in.  

Current Wolf series have more than 1,000 episodes on the air. The shows have forever shone a spotlight on law enforcement and how cops corral the bad guys. George Floyd’s death a year ago, and with Black Lives Matter taking off after that, has compelled many Americans to rethink the way they view police. 

Wolf Entertainment has done its own soul-searching. An abundance of panel discussions, discussions in the writers’ rooms, consultants and loads of research have pushed the Wolf team to fully grasp all sides of this vital issue. “The people inside the company, the showrunners, the producers, we spend a lot of time talking about police behavior, probably more time than any other non-law enforcement group of people in the country, because it’s what we do every day,” Wolf said at a press event for Law & Order: Organized Crime. “We’re doing what we always do, which is listen very carefully and read virtually everything written about this, from both sides of the spectrum.”

Rick Eid, executive producer and showrunner on Chicago P.D. and FBI, told B+C/Multichannel News the series “try to be honest to the moment and the time. Obviously police reform is a really important issue right now that we are taking very seriously.”

Wolf promised his cop dramas will reflect modern America in a thoughtful manner. “The shows will speak for themselves,” he said. 

Broadcast Bedrock 

There are many of them. Tuesdays on CBS, season three of FBI is on at 9 p.m. and season two of FBI: Most Wanted is on at 10. On Wednesdays, NBC has season six of Chicago Med at 8 p.m., season nine of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and season eight of Chicago P.D. at 10. 

Law & Order: SVU is in season 22 on NBC (the network signed on for three more seasons last year) and Law & Order: Organized Crime premiered to boffo ratings April 1, with viewers keen to see the reunion of Detectives Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni), longtime partners on SVU until Meloni departed in 2011. 

On May 14, NBC shared its 2021-2022 schedule, which sees Wolf’s Chicago dramas on Wednesdays and a Law & Order trio on Thursdays.

Detective Stabler gets his closeup on Organized Crime after his wife is murdered. “This is a show that will spend time with Stabler and his family and his life and his emotions,” said Ilene Chaiken, Organized Crime executive producer and showrunner, at the press event. “We tell stories. We tell procedural stories. The DNA of the Law & Order franchise or SVU is very much in our show, but we probably will get to know Stabler in a way you’ve never gotten to know him.”

Wolf Entertainment is more than scripted stuff. Unscripted series, under the management of Tom Thayer, include Murder for Hire on Oxygen, as well as projects on the air and in development at A&E and Peacock, among other networks. 

The scripted programs have such a dedicated viewer base that one night in mid April, NBC got second place in the overnight ratings with its three Chicago shows — despite them being in repeats. Whether they’re first runs or reruns, contemporary story lines and a deep bench of talent give the Wolf shows a unique sheen. Media consultant Bill Carroll mentioned “an unbelievable bench of stage actors playing guest characters that give a certain depth to the shows.” 

“It feels very contemporary, there’s a strong following for the main characters, and the quality of acting — it all adds up to a positive,” Carroll added. 

Yes, WE Can

Asked about the success of his shows, Wolf shared a message he passed along to network executives. “Years ago, at Christmastime, I sent plaques to all the network heads,” said Wolf. “They said, ‘It’s the writing, stupid.’ ”

Those who know him well said Wolf has a unique knack for finding talent, whether it’s in the writers’ room, cast or production wing, and giving them the space to do their thing. The Wolf series work because of a crystal clear vision from the boss and boots on the ground with the skill, experience and discipline to execute on that vision. 

“Everybody has a voice,” said Peter Jankowski, Wolf Entertainment chief operating officer and executive producer on the Law & Order, FBI and Chicago brands. 

Eid noted Wolf’s “amazing eye” for talent. “His vision is what we all try to follow,” said Eid. “It’s a very specific vision, not only for the show, but ultimately for the entire franchise.”

In 2019, Wolf Films rebranded to Wolf Entertainment. More recently, team members began referring to the team as WE. It’s an abbreviation, but it also sums up the Wolf Entertainment mindset. True teamwork “sets us apart from other television production companies,” said Jankowski. 

A foreboding mantra guides the WE team. “Work like you can be canceled tomorrow,” Jankowski shared. “That’s what happens in television.” 

The common ground between the Wolf series is pretty simple, according to Eid: intriguing storytelling. “That’s what we strive for each and every episode — credible, grounded, honest story­telling,” Eid said. “Every department shares their excellence on every episode. The aggregate effect of that energy and effort, and having the right people in place, creates shows that are differentiated from other shows.”

Wolf has long had an overall deal with Universal Television. Universal president Erin Underhill said the Wolf camp goes about its business in a unique manner. “Wolf Entertainment is really smart about how they approach production and post,” she said. “They’ve built an incredible system that protects each aspect of filmmaking and they use their resources wisely.”

The team has had to be particularly wise to shoot amidst the pandemic. They shot one fewer episode of Organized Crime due to COVID challenges, Wolf noted, “but that hasn’t affected the story­telling at all.”

Janikowski mentioned the “uncomfortable environment” actors and producers have experienced over the past year, masking up and staying apart. “Everyone’s muscles have had to be reprogrammed,” he said. 

With so many shows, it’s a lot of muscles to reprogram. But the Wolf series all came together, as they always have. 

The Wolf Entertainment rebrand saw a renewed focus on digital, including a social media push and podcasting, such as The Law and Order: SVU Podcast and scripted series Hunted. 

Wolf’s son Elliot heads up the digital team. “It’s  been amazing to see the response from fans while building the Wolf Entertainment community,” said Elliot, executive VP of digital. “When it comes to digital, we want to be at the tip of the spear in terms of innovation. All of our efforts are geared towards creating a stronger connection with fans of our shows and expanding the ways in which we tell stories.”

Hargitay and Meloni were the guests on the SVU podcast in late March, just before their characters reconnected. Hargitay spoke about the benefits of sharing a long, intense history with Meloni on set. “One of the biggest gifts, for me, is this innate knowing that Chris and I can navigate any scene to where it needs to be,” she said. “We sort of know, better than anyone, really, what the scene is because of our history. And that’s exciting because, if we read something and it’s not quite right or it’s more of a rough draft and it has beautiful shape but it’s not quite nuanced as we want it to be, or not exactly right emotionally, we can get there.”

What’s Next

On May 3, NBC announced a straight-to-series order on Law & Order: For the Defense, a look at a criminal defense firm. “We spent the last 30 years on shows that played offense,” Wolf said at the time. “Now it will be great to play defense.”

Speaking before the announcement, Underhill said there is always demand for another Wolf series or two. “Knowing Dick’s ambitions, I’m sure there are more great shows percolating in his head,” she said. “He has a knack for knowing what people want to see.”

Jankowski sounded a similar note before For the Defense was divulged. “With Dick Wolf, there is always room for another show,” he said. 

Major producers, including Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy, have shifted to Netflix after a string of hits on traditional TV. Wolf has a project in development at Netflix, details of which his camp would not share. But Wolf Entertainment digs broadcast and the relatively hefty audiences a well-made show can gather, Jankowski said, and for the large number of episodes they get to produce. 

In terms of streaming partners, NBCUniversal’s Peacock inked a deal last year for three Law & Order series and the Chicago trio, while IMDb TV ordered the Wolf police-on-patrol drama On Call. 

“As storytellers and producers, we don’t care what platform it is,” Eid said. “We’re just trying to make something that’s engaging and honest and entertaining.”

The FBI brand has taken off since its 2018 launch. Star Missy Peregrym called her Maggie character “an everyday superhero” who wins over viewers with her peculiar mix of vulnerability, empathy and toughness. 

Three consecutive episodes of FBI: Most Wanted drew more than 6 million viewers apiece in March and April. 

FBI: International is scheduled to debut next season. It will follow the elite agents of the FBI’s international division as they traverse the world to protect Americans. Derek Haas will be showrunner. “FBI is the fastest-growing brand on television and our partner Dick Wolf has found yet another creative way to expand its universe,” said Kelly Kahl, CBS Entertainment president, when the series was announced in March.

Unstable(r)

Before its premiere, Wolf said Organized Crime would get way inside Elliot Stabler’s head. “These villains are going to be really bad guys, and they’ll give Chris [Meloni] a constant source of energy, outrage and belief in justice,” said Wolf, “and a different way of pursuing criminals than we had before.”

Stabler has always been tantalizingly close to snapping, and the murder of his wife has brought him that much closer. “Injustice makes his head explode,” Meloni said. “This is Elliot 2.0, and hopefully his evolution has a clear understanding that the world is unjust. How you adapt to realities that keep punching you in the face.”

Organized Crime got off to a blazing start April 1. That night’s Law & Order: SVU episode scored a 4.3 rating in viewers 18-49, and 17.1 million total viewers. The Organized Crime premiere did a 4.7 in 18-49, and 18.1 million have watched. Such ratings are rare on broadcast anymore. 

Wolf told B+C he was “pleasantly surprised” by the crossover’s performance. “Obviously the two-hour premiere was a truly special event,” he said, “with Mariska and Chris getting back together.”

The second season has 24 episodes planned. Wolf mentioned three eight-episode arcs for Organized Crime: One fashioned after The Godfather, one after American Gangster and one after Scarface. 

The Wolf shows have long been described as being ripped from the headlines, but Wolf suggested there’s more context to it. “We take the headline but not the body copy,” he said. 

Whether it’s Chicago, FBI, Law & Order or a new brand, Wolf Entertainment shows have a knack for hooking viewers a moment or two after an episode begins, and holding them across the hour — week after week, season after season. “The audience looks forward to going on an emotional journey each week and they come because the shows deliver,” said Underhill. “Dick is smart about infusing new life into his shows with compelling new characters, topical issues and dynamic guest stars.”

Jankowski said Wolf understands television every bit as well as the network execs he deals with, including what keeps viewers watching at, say, Wednesdays at 8 in  an increasingly on-demand world. “He has his eye on the horizon all the time,” Jankowski said. “He has such a strategic mind. There’s no producer in television like him.” 

CBS has renewed FBI and FBI: Most Wanted, and ordered a third show in the franchise, FBI: International. Dick Wolf is behind all three. FBI: International is scheduled to debut as part of an FBI-FBI: Most Wanted crossover episode next season. 

FBI: International follows the elite agents of the FBI’s international division as they travel the world to protect Americans. Wolf, Derek Haas, Rick Eid, Peter Jankowski and Arthur Forney will executive produce the series from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, in association with CBS Studios. Haas will be showrunner.

“FBI is the fastest growing brand on television and our partner Dick Wolf has found yet another creative way to expand its universe,” said Kelly Kahl, president, CBS Entertainment. “FBI: International is an intriguing and distinct drama that perfectly complements its compelling siblings, FBI and FBI: Most Wanted, creating an enviable triple-threat for next season that will fit seamlessly across our network lineup.”

Also Read: ‘Survivor’ Back in Production at CBS

FBI is in season three. FBI: Most Wanted is in season two. 

“CBS has been a great creative partner, and they understand the value of the growing FBI brand,” Wolf said. “The showrunners, writers, producers, cast, crew and everyone on our team have delivered exciting and creative shows that clearly resonate with viewers. FBI: International offers us the opportunity to expand with a powerful new drama.”

Wolf has Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. on NBC.

Showtime will premiere the limited series The Comey Rule, starring Jeff Daniels as former FBI Director James Comey, in late November. Brendan Gleeson plays President Trump. The series has two two-hour parts, which will air on consecutive nights.

Based on the Comey book A Higher Loyalty, the project was adapted for the screen by Billy Ray.

Ray is an executive producer along with Shane Salerno, Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin and Ray.

Showtime calls The Comey Rule “an immersive, behind-the-headlines account of the historically turbulent events surrounding the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, which divided a nation. The Comey Rule is not a biopic of one man, but is instead the story of two powerful figures, Comey and Trump, whose strikingly different personalities, ethics and loyalties put them on a collision course.”

Daniels starred in The Newsroom and The Looming Tower, among many other series and films. Gleeson was in the Harry Potter films and Mr. Mercedes.

The cast also includes Holly Hunter, Michael Kelly, Scoot McNairy, Jonathan Banks and Jennifer Ehle.

The series was produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Home Run Productions, The Story Factory, and Secret Hideout.

Sen. Josh Hawley has announced that he plans to introduce legislation banning the TikTok app from all government devices.  

He called it a necessary step to protect the security of the country and the data security of its citizens.  

Currently the State Department, DHS and the TSA have all banned their employees from using the Chinese-backed short-form mobile video app on government devices, and even advised them to have their children uninstall it from their personal devices, Hawley said Wednesday.  

TikTok is a Chinese company that does business in the U.S.

Hawley announced the bill at a Hill hearing on China's threat to tech.

Early in the hearing, Hawley talked of China launching social media apps to the global consumer market, another issue in Hawley's wheelhouse, then singled out TikTok, which was invited to the hearing but declined to participate. 

Sen. Dick Durbin also chided Apple for not agreeing to testify, saying that Hawley should not take it personally since it was ten years ago that the company declined his invitation to come and talk about their "complicity in human rights violations in China, and sadly it has gotten worse since.

Hawley pointed out that TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2019 in the U.S., and said more teenagers are on the app than on Facebook. He said it is required by Chinese law to share user data with Beijing and admits it has sent user data to China. He called that a major security risk as it collects images and info about the messages its users send and sites that they visit and location data.  

As a father of young children, Hawley said he found that "absolutely horrifying." 

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Judiciary Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee said at the hearing that focusing on China--the hearing, called by Republican chairman Hawley (R-Mo.) was entitled "Dangerous Partners: Big Tech and Beijing"--missed a larger picture. 

"The problem is bigger than Beijing and broader than any one industry," he said in his opening statement. Whitehouse said there had been an onslaught of cyber crime that came from individuals, criminal syndicates and nation states, including Russia, Iran and North Korea. 

He said the government must look at the "full array of cyber threats" and figure out what more should be done.  

Whitehouse said the country needs to strengthen the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) framework of voluntary best practices for the companies that build out and maintain critical infrastructure. He called that framework, announced in 2014, groundbreaking, but said "we still don't know if it is working." 

Whitehouse said the framework needed to be "stress-tested" and updated. He also called for the President to name a "discloser-in-chief" to declassify and share government cybersecurity info with states, the private sector and the public. "We can only defend ourselves against threats if we know they are out there," he said. 

Related: NIST Releases Privacy Framework 

He gave the Department of Homeland Security for trying to get more cyberattack information out faster.  

While Whitehouse wanted to look beyond China, Hawley began the questioning focused on  

China, saying the U.S. faced a major security threat from that country, to economic, military and cyber and personal data security.

Witness Clyde Wallace, deputy assistant director of the FBI's cyber division, echoed Hawley's concern. "While several nation-states pose a cyber threat to U.S. interests, no other country presents a broader and more comprehensive threat to our ideas, innovation, and economic security than the People’s Republic of China," Wallace said.  

Asked why the government agencies that had banned TikTok so far had done so, Wallace said TikTok was an application whose implications the average American did not understand in terms of what data could flow to a state-sponsored actor and its data warehouses. 

Witness Bryan Ware, assistant director for cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security added said that consumers trade their personal information pretty freely for  entertainment or convenience and said he wished "we were all more aware of what we were giving up when we did that." 

He agreed there was not place for TikTok, primarily an entertainment platform, on any government devices or networks. 

Whitehouse said there was a way for well-intention countries to surveil apps with malicious payloads, particularly ones that are becoming rapidly popular--like TikTok--and put warning labels on them so the public knows what the hazards are. He urged his witnesses to pursue that, which would require State buy. He said TikTok was an example of such a hazardous product that was unmarked by most people.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked the FBI and Federal Trade Commission to look into the face morphing FaceApp from a company headquartered in Russia, concerned the Russian government might be getting access to users' personal data. 

According to Appfigures, it is the top-ranked iOS App Store app. 

The app takes photos and makes the subjects appear older (see photos below) or younger or changes men to women, women to men, or the unhip to the hip. 

It also may be harvesting more data than users know, said Schumer. 

"In order to operate the application, users must provide the company full and irrevocable access to their personal photos and data," said Schumer. "In practice, providing this level of access to a user's data could mean that any photos taken with the application could be used publicly or privately in the future without a user's consent," he said. 

Schumer said it would be "deeply troubling if the sensitive personal information of U.S. citizens was provided to a hostile foreign power actively engaged in cyber hostilities against the United States." 

He wants the FBI to mitigate the risk of the app's aggregation data, and for the FTC to investigate whether there are "adequate" privacy safeguards for American users of the app, including government personnel and members of the military. If not, it wants the FTC to issue a warning to that effect. 

The Justice Department has made it clear that Russian-backed elements tried, and continue to try, to influence U.S. elections, including advocating for the election or defeat of particular candidates, both in the 2016 election and the upcoming 2018 midterms, using a variety of tools including "activists, advertisements on social media platforms, registration of domain names, the purchase of proxy servers, and 'promoting news postings on social networks.'"

That is according to the Department of Justice, which Friday (Oct. 19) charged a Russian national with interfering with the U.S. political system.

President Donald Trump has in the past appeared skeptical about the extent of Russian election interference, but there were no hints of skepticism in the statements of Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who collectively announced the criminal complaint, unsealed Friday in Alexandria, Va.

Related: Sen. Warner Ticked Off By Edge Arrogance

But two findings, or more specifically the absence of findings, do square with the President's views on Russian election meddling: "The criminal complaint does not include any allegation that Khusyaynova or the broader conspiracy had any effect on the outcome of an election," DOJ said, nor does it "allege that any American knowingly participated in the Project Lakhta operation."

And while social media giants have been in the sites of Congress over too little data security, too much data sharing and too many breaches and the Administration and Republicans over accusations of bias against conservatives, DOJ gave Twitter and Facebook a shout out for their "exceptional cooperation" in the investigation. Both companies have told Congress they are committed to rooting out fake news and bogus accounts and other content meant to sew discord. 

“This case serves as a stark reminder to all Americans: Our foreign adversaries continue their efforts to interfere in our democracy by creating social and political division, spreading distrust in our political system, and advocating for the support or defeat of particular political candidates,” said Wray.

Related: Russia Presses Edge on Possible Russian Kavanaugh Meddling

“Today’s charges allege that Russian national Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova conspired with others who were part of a Russian influence campaign to interfere with U.S. democracy,” said Demers. “The strategic goal of this alleged conspiracy, which continues to this day, is to sow discord in the U.S. political system and to undermine faith in our democratic institutions.”

The complaint alleges that Khusyaynova was the chief accountant for Project Lakhta, funded by oligarch Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin and companies he controls.

The activity targeted audiences in Russia, the U.S., the E.U. and the Ukraine, among others, according to DOJ. The project had an operating budget of $35 million, including $10 million for U.S. operations for the first six months of 2018.

DOJ said the effort was not just to spread distrust of specific U.S. candidates and the U.S. political system in general in an "information war," but "to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful functions of government agencies in administering relevant federal requirements."

DOJ said they took extraordinary steps to appear to be American political activists, including using VPNs to disguise their activities and hide their Russian origins and creating thousands of social media and email accounts to amplify divisive content. 

Among the topics addressed were immigration, gun control/Second Amendment, the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the Women’s March, and even the NFL national anthem debate. Campaigns were often anchored to events, like the Charleston church shooting, Las Vegas concert shooting, the Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville and police shootings of unarmed black men, as well as "the personnel and policy decisions of the current U.S. presidential administration."

DOJ said activities were not exclusively targeted at one ideological view, but rather were designed to create "political intensity" or "aggravate conflict" between the races.

“This new indictment by the Justice Department demonstrates the serious nature of these ongoing attacks on our democratic process," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I commend the career officials at DOJ who continue to work tirelessly to stop foreign actors from sowing division and spreading distrust in our political system. This is why the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation has been focused on some of the dangers posed on social media platforms,"

“But the threat is not over. As the criminal complaints notes, these attacks continue to this day. It is critical for Congress to step up and immediately act to employ much-needed guardrails on social media. And as I've said before, these companies need to work with Congress so we can update our laws to better protect against attacks on our democratic institutions.”

The 2018-19 broadcast TV season officially launches next week as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and the CW begin rolling out shiny, new scripted shows as well as new episodes of returning hit series.

In years past, cable networks looking to launch new original programming avoided the months of September and October like the plague for fear that their shows would drown amid the high level of marketing and promotional noise generated by the broadcast networks.

This year however, shows like FX’s Mayans M.C., a sequel to the network's popular Sons Of Anarchy series; USA Network’s The Purge, a takeoff on the popular movie franchise of the same name; and Lifetime’s social media/romance thriller You have all debuted after Labor Day, weeks before the broadcasters could get high-profile new shows like The Conners, The Cool Kids, F. B. I., Magnum P.I., Manifest, A Million Little Things and Murphy Brown in front of viewers.

“Back in the day cable used to make a name for itself in the summer when the broadcast networks weren’t doing much (original programming), and they gained alot of traction,” said Marc Berman, editor of TV industry website Programming Insider. “The way the industry works now its a 12-month business … you can no longer sit and hold [new content] back because the broadcast networks traditionally put most of their new shows out in September.”

So far, viewers haven’t waited for the new broadcast shows to get a taste of new fall programming:

--Mayans M.C. drew 4.6 million viewers on a Nielsen live +3 basis for its Sept. 4 premiere, a 64% increase over the 2008 premiere of its predecessor Sons Of Anarchy. The series also drew the most viewers in key Adult 25-54, Adult 18-49 and adult 18-34 demos than any other new cable series premiere this year, according to FX.

--BET’s The Bobby Brown Story miniseries drew a combined 4.6 million viewers across its Sept. 4-5 premiere telecasts, the most viewers the network has drawn for a scripted program since the January 2017 The New Edition Story mini-series.

--The Purge scared up more than 1.3 million viewers for its Sept. 4 premiere, making it one of the network’s highest show premieres of the year.

Lifetime executive vice president of movies, limited series and acquisitions Tanya Lopez says the September launch of You offered an opportunity to grab and hopefully lock in viewers before the new broadcast series shows premiered. 

You's’ Sept. 9 premiere drew 4.4 million viewers on a Nielsen Live +3 ratings basis, and has reached more than 9.2 million total viewers across all telecasts, according to the network.

“This gives Lifetime several weeks to establish a loyal audience for You as the series only continues to get better and more addictive as the season progresses,” Lopez said. “We’re in a sweet spot of catching audiences who are returning from their summer vacations, settling back into their lives and watching TV. It’s a fantastic opportunity to catch these viewers before the fall promotion hits full steam.”

With several cable and streaming services set to launch high-profile scripted series over the next few weeks -- including FX's Mr. Inbetween, Crackle's Us & Them, Hulu's Into The Dark, and Amazon's The Romanoffs, its abundantly clear that the fall months are no longer the exclusive purview of the broadcast networks to launch new scripted content.   

Former FBI director James Comey said in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that many news stories about the investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election have been dead wrong.

Comey was testifying on private conversations he had with President Donald Trump before being fired and the FBI's Russian investigation.

Comey was asked by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) whether there had been news accounts about "the Russian investigation, about collusion, about this whole event or accusations" that "stunned" him with how wrong they had gotten the facts.

Comey answered yes almost immediately. "There have been many, many stories purportedly based on classified information about lots of stuff, but especially about Russia, that were just dead wrong," Comey said.

A group of senate Democrats, including some of the Hill's loudest critics of FCC chair Ajit Pai's effort to roll back Title II, have asked the FBI to investigate the multiple distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks the agency said it suffered and which affected its online comment system.

Related: FCC CIO Says Agency Hit by DDoS Attack

“This particular attack may have denied the American people the opportunity to contribute to what is supposed to be a fair and transparent process, which in turn may call into question the integrity of the FCC’s rulemaking proceedings,” the senators wrote to acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. “We request that you update us on the status of the FBI’s investigation and brief us on this matter.”

The alleged attack appeared to be in connection with the net-neutrality proceeding. Signing the letter were Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee; Al Franken (D-Minn.); Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Markey and Wyden have been leaders in the effort to preserve Title II.

Elsewhere, Fight for the Future also has asked for an investigation and documentation of the attack, and some in Congress have also asked the FCC for information about them, but the senators who signed the letter said the FBI needs to get involved given the seriousness of any cyberattack.

They asked the FBI to brief them "on this matter" by June 23.

FBI director James Comey confirmed Monday that as part of its counterintelligence mission, the FBI was investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election, including "investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and the Russian government's efforts." 

He said that would include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed. Comey was testifying on alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election at a hearing of the House Select Intelligence Committee.

Comey said he had been authorized by the Justice Department to say that much but could not elaborate, including on who might be being investigated.

He said he has briefed Congress in detail about the investigation but could not do so in public. He also said he could not say how long the investigation would take but would "follow the facts wherever they lead." 

Comey said while it is agency policy not to confirm ongoing investigations, this was a special circumstance, and it would be in the public interest to do so.

Comey said the investigation began in late July but said it was impossible to say how long it would ultimately take.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) pushed Comey on whether reporters could be charged with a felony for publishing the name of the subject of information collected by intelligence agencies, subject to a court order, and unlawfully leaked--in this instance Gen. Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor. Comey would not weigh in, signaling that was still an open question, but in his experience that had not been the case.

Trey said the felonious dissemination of classified information is a crime.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) asked what the government's responsibility is in correcting false information in the media. Comey said there was a whole lot being reported that was, indeed, wrong, but that the FBI can't correct incorrect reports on classified information because it would be giving information to the other side. He said he can't tell those news outlets what was wrong or why.

Cable news networks and broadcast news operations were covering the FBI's announcement that it was recommending to the Justice Department that no indictment was appropriate in the investigation of the handling of Hillary Clinton's e-mails as Secretary of State and that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring charges in such a situation.

Broadcast network news operations broke into regular programming Tuesday to air FBI director James Comey's announcement that the law enforcement agency is recommending that no charges be brought against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

Comey said the FBI's investigation concluded there were careless procedures at State and emphasized he was not suggesting such conduct should be free of consequences, simply that they should not include a criminal indictment. But he also said even though the information in the emails may not have been marked "classified," Clinton and others should have known the emails were.

Comey described Clinton as "extremely careless" with the security of that email information.

While he said the FBI found no evidence that Clinton's servers had been hacked, he finessed that immediately, saying that given the skill of such hackers, they likely would leave no evidence if they had hacked Clinton's private servers.

TV pundits were viewing the announcement as a double-edged sword for the candidate. They led with the recomendation against indictment, but CNN's Wolf Blitzer, for example, called Comey's characterization of Clinton's handling of the info "damning" and a "severe slap."  Additionally, Clinton reportedly met with FBI investigators over the weekend, so the speed with which Comey made the recommendation surprised some commentators.

Clinton's likely GOP presidential rival, Donald Trump, tweeted following the Comey announcement: "The system is rigged. General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment," followed by "FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! #RiggedSystem."

One Republican strategist--commening for CNN--said rather than focusing on a "rigged system," Trump should hammer Clinton over how she had characterized her handling of the e-mails versus how Comey characterized it.

Clinton reportedly had a meeting over the weekend with FBI investigators, so the speed with which Comey made the recommendation surprised some commentators.

The FBI's redacted release to the media and public of 911 calls placed by the Orlando shooter caused a bit of a row in D.C. Monday (June 20).

The FBI scrubbed the transcripts of mentions of ISIS or terrorist leaders, but eventually released the full transcripts.

“The purpose of releasing the partial transcript of the shooter's interaction with 911 operators was to provide transparency, while remaining sensitive to the interests of the surviving victims, their families, and the integrity of the ongoing investigation," the Justice Department said, adding "We also did not want to provide the killer or terrorist organizations with a publicity platform for hateful propaganda."

"Unfortunately, the unreleased portions of the transcript that named the terrorist organizations and leaders have caused an unnecessary distraction from the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime," the FBI said. "As much of this information had been previously reported, we have re-issued the complete transcript to include these references in order to provide the highest level of transparency possible under the circumstances.”

One of those complaining had been House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who got creative with his criticism, supplying both a redacted and unredacted version (see photo).

"Chairman McCaul: “The Obama Administration just redacted the BLANK out of the Orlando shooter’s 911 transcripts. I am greatly BLANK at the Administration’s denial of reality. How in the BLANK does censoring this BLANK make us safer? This is in line with the Administration’s long string of BLANK of the threat Islamist terror poses to our homeland. The victims and their loved ones deserve justice, and the American people deserve all the facts. The terror threat to our nation cannot be redacted.”

"Chairman McCaul’s Unredacted Statement:

“The Obama Administration just redacted the truth out of the Orlando shooter’s 911 transcripts. I am greatly disturbed at the Administration’s denial of reality. How in the world does censoring this truth make us safer? This is in line with the Administration’s long string of denials of the threat Islamist terror poses to our homeland. The victims and their loved ones deserve justice, and the American people deserve all the facts."

UPDATE:Shapiro: Bill Compelling Decryption Would Make Cybersecurity Illegal

A bipartisan pair of powerful senators wants to make sure communications companies help the government unlock encrypted information.

According to a draft of the legislation, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) plan to introduce a bill, the Compliance with Court Orders Act, that would make it clear that communications companies have to provide unencrypted versions of encrypted user information when ordered to by a court, or help the government unencrypt it.

Burr and Feinstein are chair, and vice chair, respectively of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

That would only apply if the target of the order, or a third party on its behalf, had done the encrypting. If the communications company provides technical assistant in decoding the data, they would be compensate for reasonable and necessary costs.

The bill would not authorize the government require or prohibit any type of operating system, which means the bill would not prevent encryption but would require companies to be able to defeat their own encryption in order to be able to make the info available.

The bill follows the privacy vs. security tug-of-war between Apple and the FBI, and among privacy groups, stakeholders and government more broadly, over accessing the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. A cable source said they believed the bill would apply to cable companies, too.

The FBI got a court order compelling Apple to help it access the encrypted information, but Apple did not comply and fought the order. The FBI ultimately got the information without Apple's help, so the company did not wind up having to comply by default--the FCC withdrew the request that the court compel them.

"All providers of communications services and products (including software) should protect the privacy of United States persons through implementation of appropriate data security and still respect the rule of law and comply with all legal requirements and court orders," the legislation says.

It did not sit well with privacy advocates, who slammed the draft.

"This leaked draft of the upcoming Feinstein-Burr bill instructs every tech vendor in America to use either backdoored encryption or no encryption at all, even though practically every security expert in the country would tell you that means laying down our arms in the constant fight to secure or data against thieves, hackers, and spies," said Kevin Bankston, director of New America’s Open Technology Institute. "This bill would not only be surrendering America’s cybersecurity but also its tech economy, as foreign competitors would continue to offer—and bad guys would still be able to easily use!—more secure products and services. The fact that this lose-lose proposal is coming from the leaders of our Senate’s intelligence committee, when former heads of the NSA, DHS, the CIA and more are all saying that we are more secure with strong encryption than without it, would be embarrassing if it weren’t so frightening."

“This bill is a clear threat to everyone’s privacy and security," said Neema Singh Guliani, legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. Instead of heeding the warnings of experts, the senators have written a bill that ignores economic, security, and technical reality. It would force companies to deliberately weaken the security of their products by providing backdoors into the devices and services that everyone relies on. Senators Burr and Feinstein should abandon their efforts to create a government backdoor.”

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said the bill would put communications companies in an untenable position.

"While companies should comply with lawful requests, it is simply not possible for a company to do so when the customer controls the only keys used to encrypt the data. For example, the popular messaging app WhatsApp, which provides end-to-end encryption on its platform, would not be able to comply with the legislation, unless it modified its system. Yet,

the bill explicitly states that it is not authorizing the government to require or prohibit any specific design changes to software or hardware. In short, this bill sets up a legal paradox that would further muddy the waters about how and when the government can compel the private sector to assist in gaining access to private information."

“The leaked draft shows that the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 would undermine any technology that helps secure people’s private communications," said Free Press Action Fund policy counsel Gaurav Laroia. "It’s a massive overreach by Senators Burr and Feinstein, who appear to have forgotten the rights guaranteed to Americans under the Constitution."

The senators took a hit as well from the group.

“Our right to communicate in private is being threatened by the very people Americans rely on for these protections. Burr and Feinstein lead the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which is supposed to defend the rights of everyday Americans and prevent overreach from the intelligence community.

“If this dangerous bill passes, it would outlaw not just end-to-end encrypted communications but also the tools that protect our information from criminals, hackers and foreign governments working to undermine the security of millions of people and businesses. Our right to privacy should extend beyond in-person conversations to include communications made via the internet and wireless networks. Encryption is the tool that makes this possible."

“This legislation could establish standards that force companies to eliminate security features that may be exploited by others who do not share law enforcement’s good intentions,” said Linda Moore, president of TechNet.  “The results are that common transactions will become easy prey for bad actors and that customers around the world could lose faith in the trustworthiness of American products and choose alternatives that don’t have the same vulnerabilities.”

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the American people should not be worried about the government hacking their phones at will.

That came in the wake of the news that the FBI had hacked into the iPhone of Syed Farook, one of two mass shooters involved in the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack on the Inland Regional Center in San Bernadino, Calif., without Apple's help, and had dropped a court effort to force the technology giant to comply.

Asked at a press conference whether the American public had any presumption of privacy, given law enforcement's ability to hack into phones, Earnest said "absolutely."

"[T]he reason that they should be confident in that privacy is because there are laws on the books that are assiduously followed by our law enforcement and national security officials that protect the privacy of the American people."

He said the way the Apple-FBI debate played out in the courts was a case of the system working as it should, and that President Obama shared that sentiment.

“The whole debate between Apple and the FBI in the context of this investigation was actually taking place not between the two of them, but actually in a court of law — because there was a judge that was presiding over this debate to ensure that the privacy of the American people was protected,” he said. “And that is the way that our system should work, and that is why people can have confidence in their right to privacy — because we know that there are laws that are on the books that are assiduously followed by our national security and law enforcement professionals to protect that privacy. And we have a whole judicial branch that understands that they have a need to interpret that law to both protect our privacy but also to keep us safe.  And that is essentially, in the mind of the president, exactly how this process should play out.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook wasted little time March 21 addressing his company’s current fight with the government, which has the Justice Department and FBI looking to force Apple to unlock an iPhone owned by one of the San Bernardino, Calif. shooters.

Apple and the government will begin arguing their cases March 22.

“We built the iPhone for you, our customers, and we know it’s a very personal device,” Cook said at an Apple event live-streaming over the Internet. “We need to decide as a nation how much power the government should have over our data and our privacy.”

“We did not expect to be in this position, at odds with our government. We owe it to our customers, and we owe it to our country. We will not shrink from this responsibility.”

For more of this story, please visit broadcastingcable.com.

FBI director James Comey said the agency’s push to get more help from Apple in the San Bernardino shooting investigation is about that case, period, but added that a conversation is necessary about the broader issue of warrant-proof spaces.

That came in a House Judiciary Committee hearing in which members of the committee had some tough questions for the director and the agency's effort to force Apple to help investigators access information on an iPhone belonging to one of the alleged San Bernardino shooters.

Both sides of the aisle had tough questions about the issue, including the case-specific details and the broader issues of encryption and privacy.

Comey said balancing the privacy and public safety was the hardest issue he had faced in government, and that ultimately Congress would likely need to address the broader issue.

But he defended the FBI's use of a legal maneuver, the All Writs Act dating from 1789, to force Apple's compliance with a court order that it create what Apple called a backdoor to its encryption and Comey described somewhat differently.

He said the FBI was not looking for Apple to create a back door. He suggested the front door would do, but that Apple had to call off the drooling guard dog so the FBI could try to pick the lock.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the committee, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman, both expressed concerns that once Apple had complied, the FBI would not stop there, and that other phones' encrypted data would be compromised.

Comey conceded that the case could provide precedent for asking for similar access to other encrypted phones the FBI possesses as part of other investigations, but that that would still require going to court with that fact set.

He also said that in the San Bernardino case, Apple had been cooperative up to a point, beyond which it did not feel it could do what the FBI wanted. At that point, Comey said, the agency used all legal means at its disposal to get the information, and that if he had not done that he should be fired.

Comey made the point repeatedly that for him, the San Bernardino case was about that particular investigation, but that there was a larger conversation to be had about encryption.

He said he saw a time when all info was encrypted, including that of pedophiles and terrorists, and that if the country wanted warrant-proof spaces, there needed to be a conversation about the implications of that.

"The FBI is not an alien force imposed upon America by Mars," he said. His job was to tell people there was a problem with encryption when it came to investigating crimes. "If there are warrant proof spaces," he said, there needs to be broader conversation about  what the consequences of that are."

Rep. Conyers said he felt the FBI was doing an end run on encryption by going the court route, and said he hopedg law enforcement was not trying to leverage a tragedy to achieve a policy change. .

Comey again said efforts to unlock the San Bernardino phone were about that case and that investigation.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-calif.), who has a security background in the private sector, arguably hammered Comey hardest. He suggested the FBI might not have done enough to access the phone information without forcing a third party, Apple, to do the work for it. Comey said that if investigators had been able to do it themselves, he wouldn't be there, but added that if Issa had any suggestions he hoped his FBI people were listening.

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) said that he thought Congress would eventually have to resolve the issue of the limits of privacy in a tech-driven world.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam stopped short of taking sides in Apple's legal battle with the Obama Administration over access to encrypted info on the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, but he blogged his strong support for encryption Monday and said that, bottom line, the government should not have direct access to technological privacy back doors.

Apple is fighting a court order, sought by the FCC, to create a way to hack into the password protected phone.

'[A]ny decisions made about access to those systems need to be considered carefully," McAdam wrote. "Should one government be given access to your personal information or the operations of connected infrastructure? If we say 'yes' to one government, how about others? If governments have access, how can we be confident that those with bad intentions can’t use those same systems to gain access through hacking?"

He said those questions need careful answers given what is at stake, but said that "without taking sides on the Apple case specifically," he said Verizon clearly stands for strong encryption with "no back doors."

"We support the availability of strong encryption with no 'back doors' that would enable government access to private information, which we believe would degrade security and privacy for millions of users," McAdam said.

The administration more broadly has been seeking workarounds to encryption in the case of targeted investigations involving potential threats to life or safety.

As for the specific circumstances of the Apple case -- a single phone of a possible terrorist and how Apple would have to create the back door -- McAdam said that case represents unique policy issues that should be addressed by Congress.

"In particular, there may be legitimate reasons for preventing the destruction of data, such as the investigation of terrorism and serious crimes," he said. But if so, "[t]hese conditions must be strictly defined by law, not arrived at haphazardly on an ad hoc or case-by-case basis, as in the Apple case."

That said, McAdam said Verizon opposed any solution that "would place direct technical access in the hands of law enforcement."

Privacy activists took to the streets Tuesday night, including outside FBI headquarters in Washington (pictured), to protest the government's attempt to get Apple to bypass its encryption on a phone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The issue is more than a single phone or incident, but more generally of government surveillance versus privacy rights and protecting business models.

The protests came exactly a week after the FBI obtained a court order, which Apple is fighting, that would require it to write software to override the deletion of data after 10 failed attempts to access it. The protestors say that would undermine the safety of hundreds of millions of people.

Apple has argued that, once created, the software could make data on all iPhones less secure.

Fight for the Future organized the protests, which were supported by Demand Progress, CREDO.