Don't Hack Our Phones
The fight between Apple and the FBI isn’t about one phone. And the Justice Department just proved it.
When Apple resisted an FBI demand to build a backdoor into the iPhone, the company came under fire for refusing to comply. The government’s rationale? It’s just one phone.
But privacy advocates and technologists everywhere knew that wasn’t true. Technically speaking, you can’t build a backdoor into just one phone. And if the company agreed to break into this phone, it would set a dangerous precedent — setting the stage for the government to force manufacturers to create less secure devices from the get-go.
Now we've learned that the FBI is demanding access into 12 more phones.1 And Attorney General Loretta Lynch requested $38 million to fund new efforts to crack encrypted communications.2
This is getting out of control. Tell the government: Don't hack our phones!
1. "Justice Department Seeks to Force Apple to Extract Data from About 12 Other iPhones," Wall Street Journal, Feb. 23, 2016: http://www.wsj.com/article_email/justice-department-seeks-to-force-apple-to-extract-data-from-about-12-other-iphones-1456202213-lMyQjAxMTI2MjIzMzMyMTMwWj
2. "Lynch Defends FBI Stance in Fight With Apple Over Suspect's Data," Bloomberg, Feb. 24, 2016: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-02-24/lynch-defends-fbi-stance-in-fight-with-apple-over-suspect-s-data
Original image by Flickr user Pabak Sarkar