Apple, The Feds, And The Fourth (Amendment) - Granite Grok

Apple, The Feds, And The Fourth (Amendment)

Liberty vs Security As Steve’s post this morning vividly illustrates, trading a little essential liberty for temporary security will inevitably lead to the growth of a burgeoning and destructive security apparatus which threatens to devour its creators.

Think about the time when John Kasich said (paraphrasing) “Megyn, we shouldn’t talk about [encryption] back doors here – that’s something to be discussed in the Situation Room with Tech companies”. Or as I commented after that debate “Nice little tech company you’ve got there – shame if something were to happen to it….”

We have already shown the World that the US government under Obama has created Stasi 2.0, and the World didn’t like it much. Thanks to the Patriot Act and the willing complicity of Republicans in Congress, our surveillance state is growing by leaps and bounds, and can demand your compliance and silence as they steal your data. Not to mention the helpful “security code” which the NSA has contributed to the Android OS.

Thus it is very welcome news that, not only are iPhones fitted with HARDWARE security, but that Apple does not possess any bypass, or ‘back door’, software, and is refusing to create it for the FBI, even to crack the phone of the San Bernardino terrorists. Their reasoning is quite simple – it would be the equivalent of a ‘master key’ for all iPhones, and if it ever fell into the wrong hands would put their customers’ data at risk. Of course, the Federal Government would never lose or misuse such a powerful tool, would they?
I rest my case, and so does Tim Cook – thus I present the alternate ending to Steve’s tale:

StGeorgeSlaysTRex

PS – of course the Feds are threatening Apple and Tim Cook with legal sanctions, but he won’t be the first or last privacy advocate to have been threatened by our own government – meet Phil Zimmermann.

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