EDITORIAL: Is Apple protecting terrorists?
In the war between Apple and Microsoft, newspapers have generally sided with Apple, whose software has always been more intuitive, more flexible and more fun.
But in the war between Apple and the FBI, we are going to have to surrender our loyalty to the electronics giant and stick with loyalty to the country and to common sense.
In case you haven’t heard, Apple has been asked by the FBI to assist in the San Bernardino terror investigation by helping to provide access to an encrypted iPhone one of the terrorists had used.
Apple said no, which is within the company’s rights, but the FBI got a court order that required Apple’s assistance. At that point, Apple stuck its corporate heels in the ground and refused to budge, unswayed by the arguments that information on the phone might deter a future terrorist attack.
Apple’s lawyers’ arguments seem to be two-fold. They claim, on the one hand, that Apple has a reputation for protecting its customer’s privacy and doesn’t want to put that at risk. In addition, they say that if Apple assists the FBI in breaking in to this one particular phone, then terrorists or other bad guys will be able to use the same technology to break in to your phone.
Neither argument makes much sense. Apple’s law-abiding customers should not be worried that the company is following a lawful court order to foil a potential terrorist plot. It won’t affect the privacy on anyone else’s phone one bit.
Nor does it compute that terrorists will somehow be able to access the technology used to open this one phone to the FBI. We suspect that Apple, Microsoft and other corporations have many trade secrets locked away that would be of much more interest to terrorists and criminals. If those secrets can be kept secure, then surely this one can, too.
Plus, with the speed that technology changes these days, the “FBI fix” would be out of date within a few months. Terrorists who somehow accessed it would probably find themselves starting at one of those pervasive cellphone messages that warns you a software upgrade is needed to continue.
On the other hand, if Apple prevails in its quest to shut down the FBI investigation, the result will be obvious and indeed terrifying. The bad guys will just hop down to their local Apple Store to buy the latest iPhone 6 to take advantage of the much-publicized technology that lets terrorists communicate safely and securely — away from the prying eyes of FBI agents who want to stop bombings and shootings.
Seems simple to us — and to most Americans. Apple needs to be on the side of law and order, not on the side of protecting terrorists.