Friday Night Fights: Apple vs the U.S. Government

A few months ago, there was a shooting in San Bernardino, California, leaving 14 people dead.  The killers, who were later killed by police, were identified to be Muslim terrorists.  The F.B.I. (Federal Bureau of Investigation)  has been trying to gather as much information about the killers as they can.  However, the F.B.I. is not able to access the killer’s iPhone because it’s high level security features.

Now a judge has ordered Apple to create a backdoor for the F.B.I. to gain access to the information on the iPhone.  Apple’s simple response “No.”  Apple has said that by creating a backdoor for the government to access the information, it would create privacy concerns for all iPhone users, and also give criminals the ability to access personal data. You can read Apple’s letter to customers about the issue here.

Privacy vs security has been a growing issue in America, as we saw in 2014, when American whistleblower, Edward Snowden, showed evidence that the U.S. government was spying on its citizens by accessing people’s emails, phone calls, etc.

Of course stopping the next terrorist attack is important, but should it come at a cost of everyone’s personal privacy?

IMO, as much as I believe terrorism is very real, I would have to give my support to Apple on this issue. Our privacy is one of the greatest freedoms we have, so to give in to the fears of terrorism and give up the fight for freedom, would mean the terrorists won.

I would like to refer to one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who said, “they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”