As the war of words between Apple and the US government continues to rage, the iPhone maker has been at the center of a political and technological storm the likes of which it has never experienced before. That storm isn’t likely to go away any time soon, and CEO Tim Cook has sought to ensure all of his employees understand the reasons behind the company’s position in a letter to each and every one of them.
The current situation is one that hasn’t changed all that much since this story first broke last year. The FBI wants Apple to enable it to access data on an iPhone 5c that was the business phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, but due to one or two missteps by law enforcement, the iPhone is currently in a state that requires Apple’s help – help that the company is point blank refusing to give.
In the letter to Apple employees, Tim Cook has explained the company’s position, saying that giving in to the FBI’s demands would set a “dangerous precedent that threatens everyone’s civil liberties.” While the FBI only wants this one iPhone opening up, Apple’s stance is that doing that may open the floodgates to more and more requests once that precedent has been set.
Tim Cook’s letter goes on to say that the FBI want’s Apple to return iOS encryption capabilities to pre-iOS 8 levels of sophistication, making iOS devices less secure not just when law enforcement wants to access them, but also in general. That’s far from a good idea.
In order to drive its point home to as many people as possible, the company has also posted an FAQ page that answers some of the most common questions surrounding the current situation. Whether that will be enough to change minds is anyone’s guess, but expect to see the authorities step things up a notch before long.
You can read Tim’s memo in full here:
You may also like to check out:
- Protestors Gather Outside Apple Store To Support The Fight Against iPhone Backdoors
- Donald Trump On Apple’s Refusal Of Bernardino Court Order: “Who Do They Think They Are?”
- Donald Trump Calls For Boycott Of Apple Products, Apple Responds
- Google CEO Sides With Apple And Tim Cook, Opposes FBI’s Demand For iPhone Backdoor
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.
