What will a Trump administration mean for privacy?

[Commentary] Though it is not yet clear how a President Trump will come down on privacy issues specifically, based on past comments and insights from thought leaders in the space, there are several trends that could emerge.

President-elect Trump has consistently referred to himself as the "law-and-order" candidate and was outspoken about giving law enforcement tools for accessing digital communications. Some worry that means a greater potential for a government-supported mandate for backdoors into encrypted communications. Together with the re-election of Sen Richard Burr (R-NC), who led efforts in the past year to draft legislation mandating law enforcement access to encrypted communications, a Trump presidency, at the very least, offers some uncertainty here. "I imagine (Trump) is going to be a guy who is probably going to mandate back doors," said Strategic Cyber Ventures Chief Operating Officer Hank Thomas. A former National Security Agency official, Thomas added, "I don't think he's ultimately going to be a friend to privacy, and the fearful side of me says he will get intelligence agencies more involved in domestic law enforcement."