The Annoyed Man wrote:Bitter, I have to respectfully disagree.....
I'm on my 3rd iPhone. I appreciate the privacy from the overreaching grasp of an out of control federal gov't which, particularly under the direction of a racist fascist like Obama, thinks it has no limits to its power over our lives. If that means that Apple has exclusive use of my data so that they can try to sell me stuff, well at least I'm being marketed to by a company which cares more about my 4th Amendment rights than does the government which is charged with protecting those rights.
If it is possible for Apple to cooperate with that investigation without revealing their encryption methods to gov't, then maybe they should cooperate. But if cooperation means revealing their encryption methods, thereby unlocking all iPhones to gov't intrusion at will, then the Obama administration can go fly a kite........EVEN if that means that some connection to other terrorists goes undiscovered.
"You'll be safer" as an excuse for giving NSA unprecedented access in all of history to the private data of loyal American citizens has turned out NOT to have prevented jihadist attacks in this country. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and passage of the "Patriot" Act has made us LESS secure in our persons and affairs, while adding a HUGE bureaucracy with vast powers onto the backs of already overburdened taxpayers - a bureaucracy, which once created, will NEVER disappear from that burden. The last time I boarded a plane, I had to submit to having my privates jostled by a woman in uniform with an attitude.
If Apple can and will protect this lowly consumer's privacy from the intrusions of such a gov't, I applaud and thank them. Just look at what the pursuit of terrorism has done to both our liberties and our presumption of innocence even without criminal charges. We now live in an ages where we have to PROVE to gov't that our continued personal liberty is merited every single day by submitting to daily ongoing invasions of our privacy. Is THAT what generations of Americans fought and died for?
Those terrorists are dead. Good. Some of their associations have already been discovered. Good. I seriously doubt that giving THIS gov't access to the data of ALL Apple users will catch a single terrorist....... But it WILL diminish the Constitution that much more. TRUE Liberty is not without risk. I would rather assume that risk than surrender my Liberty. If others are more concerned about their risk than their liberty, then let them take steps individually to mitigate their risks (by carrying a gun, for instance). But the argument that ALL must surrender their liberty so that SOME can feel safe is bovine waste product, and it has done more to damage liberty in this country than almost any other influence.
While I heartly agree with the majority of your points, I think that your argument is as well formed as it is misplaced.
WHY can't Apple just simply open that one phone and provide the needed assistance to that investigation? You know that they can - they simply choose not to. Apple doesn't give a dang about our rights, they are about as far left wing a company in philosophy as exists. They are doing this for commercial gain, likely due to the well deserved perception that their products are in fact NOT secure.
And while I am all for privacy and probably quite libertarian in that regard (shoot, I am still a Blackberry user), let's not get all crazy here. I have been finger printed, subject to multiple FBI background checks, regular lie detector screenings (try keeping a straight face when some kid just out of college asks if you have ever lied to your wife or a co-worker!) all for work, and so far, I am still here unscathed, posting my opinions.
So, we can agree to disagree on the integrity of Apple, but as for the rest, you are the closest thing to mom and apple pie for me!
