For years, I’ve been reading about the silent battle that tech giants have been fighting with the government. In a more recent circumstance, Congress has been trying to top itself in its tech illiteracy by coming up with a bill against net neutrality, which would have given Internet Service Providers the ability to charge media companies to access an exclusive “speed lane” at a more expensive fee.
It absolutely baffles me that some politicians have the tendency to disregard political and moral policies when it comes to the digital world. The very act of imposing these seemingly totalitarian ideas on subject these politicians know nothing about is ridiculous.
This time, the controversy is regarding encryption and privacy—specifically, when it is plausible for a tech company to decrypt a user’s personal device under warrants. The FBI recovered an iPhone 5C that belonged to one of the San Bernadino shooters, however the phone is protected by a passcode. The FBI has been trying to access the iPhone, but failed attempts will result in a longer delay each time and the possibility of wiping all the potentially valuable data. A federal judge has ruled that Apple must create a special iOS firmware that will allow unlimited attempts without a timed punishment, and disable the possibility of wiping data. However, doing so undermines everything that Apple stands for in addition to the extensive progress they have made in creating one of the most popular and secure operating systems.
This is not the first instance that Apple has been public about stressing the importance of their customer’s privacy; in 2014, CEO Tim Cook had already released a public letter stating, “We have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. And we never will.” To understand this premise, it must be realized that this “backdoor” does not exist. If a backdoor is created, then there will always be a way for hackers to get in. Creating the backdoor will set forth unknown repercussions in the future, and Tim Cook is trying to prevent just that. The FBI wants an “unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789,” a vaguely and conveniently written law, to justify this demand. If Apple succumbs to the FBI’s demands, then this will be a major issue for future court cases, because this issue may set a legal precedent.
Those opposed to Apple’s decision believe that it is necessary for the safety of the American people to unlock this device. However, many tech CEOs such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai have chimed in, agreeing with Apple’s decision: “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’s privacy.”
It is imperative that the government and the tech industry work together, but the insight and opinions of one of the largest tech companies in the world should be respected and compromises should not be made if the privacy of their customers is at stake.
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