Apple’s swoops with the law agencies in the United States are nothing new: since the world is a world, Apple defends tooth and nail (at least publicly) privacy of its users, while bodies like the FBI roll their eyes and say the world would be much easier if Tim Cook and his gang simply allowed unrestricted access to every potential suspect’s devices.
No statement, however, sounds as heavy as the one recently made by the US Deputy Attorney General (the second in the US Department of Justice hierarchy), Rod Rosenstein. In an interview with the Political Eric Geller, Rosenstein gave the following statement:
Rod Rosenstein, US Deputy Attorney General | Image: Graeme Jennings, from Washington ExaminerWe cannot accept a culture in which technology companies see it as part of their responsibility to defeat legitimate law enforcement activities. Frustrating harmful or destructive activities that technology makes possible is a moral imperative.
The prosecutor does not name Apple by name, but it is clear that Apple – the biggest defender of user privacy among American technology giants – is the main target (if not the only one) of his speech. Perhaps he is referring to the specific episode in which Apple refused to create a backdoor in their systems for special access by the FBI and the American legal agencies, but that’s my speculation already.
Whatever the validity of Rosenstein’s views, the fact is that Apple could not be further from a change in its position. On the contrary: the company is, together with several competitors, advocating a series of regulations for user data – in addition to improving the security of its systems with each update. In other words … this cat-and-mouse fight will continue for a long time to come.
via 9to5Mac
