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Politics - Apple vs the FBI - View Post

LurkerJ said:
mornelithe said:

Other than, you know, the whole needing a warrant thing, yes, you're correct.  This was the decision Apple made, they will now have to fight tooth and nail against every request for access, made via whatever intelligence community.  So, if Apple really is all about the consumer and privacy etc... they should have no problem going to the mats w/ the intelligence community, every single time they make the request.

Apple has positioned itself as a market leader when it comes to securing the storage and transmission of data, previously that title belong to RIM. A position Google, and others, are actively seeking to share with Apple. Whether that positioning strategy is the result of competition or a sincere moral stance on the issue of privacy is not as important as whether big government can force tech giants to compromise their free market position and ensure all future encryption is readable by the FBI. Soon enough, others will fight the same fight.

Needing a warrent might make it seem OK for the FBI to make such demands but let's not forget that Apple is an international company, what happens when less progressive countries start taking down activists by publishing their dick pix. 

Big Government most certainly CAN force companies to compromise their position.  I'm not sure why you'd think otherwise.  Congress could absolutely pass a law demanding all tech companies provide this to the Government, that's why the tech community is so concerned.  And to be honest, I'm rather mixed on it.  I do absolutely think privacy is important, but I also think it's important that the police/fbi etc.. are able to fully investigate crimes, including gaining full unfettered access to their electronics devices.  As I said previously, when Apple changed their OS in 2014, to make it infinitely more difficult to hack, they chose this path.  And it's up to them to fight it tooth and nail in every instance.  They better tread carefully though, the rammifications of this are much bigger than Apple's profit margins.