Liberty Safe is a manufacturer of residential and commercial safes, primarily known for gun safes, based in Payson, Utah. Founded in 1988, the company has grown significantly and produces over 500 safes daily, offering products with lifetime warranties and selling through various retailers across the U.S. and internationally
. In 2023, Liberty Safe became embroiled in controversy when it voluntarily provided the FBI with an access code to a customer's safe after receiving a warrant related to the investigation of a January 6 Capitol protester. The FBI requested the emergency access code to open a Liberty-manufactured safe during a search of the individual's property. Liberty Safe complied with the warrant, despite not knowing the specifics of the investigation. This action sparked significant backlash from gun owners and conservative commentators, who accused the company of betraying customer privacy and providing a "backdoor" to their safes
. Liberty Safe stated that it only provides access codes when presented with proper legal documentation such as a warrant, and that it does not maintain "backdoor codes" capable of opening all safes-only factory-set default combinations for individual safes. The company also announced policy changes, including allowing customers to request the removal of their access codes from Liberty's records and requiring subpoenas rather than just warrants for law enforcement to obtain codes in the future
. Critics argued that Liberty Safe had no legal obligation to comply with the FBI's request and that the company voluntarily gave access that could compromise the security of all Liberty safes. Supporters of the company's decision noted that refusal to provide the code would likely have led the FBI to forcibly open the safe, destroying it in the process
. In summary, Liberty Safe's key recent action was providing the FBI with an access code to a customer's safe under a warrant, which led to public controversy over privacy and security concerns
