“Can the 2016 election get any more rambunctious? To the delight of journalists—and the chagrin of Serious People everywhere — the answer is yes,” Rick Newman writes for Yahoo Finance. “Republican bomb-thrower Donald Trump has upped the ante on his insult-everybody campaign by calling for a boycott of Apple. That’s right, the world’s most valuable company, and a beloved one, besides. Trump—fresh off a spat with the Pope—apparently feels he can poke anybody or anything at this point, and emerge victorious.”
“The underlying issue is a serious one. Apple is embroiled in a dispute with the Justice Department over an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre of Dec. 2. The FBI is demanding that Apple develop technology to unlock the phone, so they can investigate information the shooter may have stored there,” Newman writes. “Apple CEO Tim Cook says that’s no easy task and doing so would set a precedent allowing hackers and crooks easier access to iPhones worldwide. Apple is contesting the FBI order in court, with an appeal set for Feb. 26. But further appeals could keep the matter in court for months.”
Newman writes, “Trump, with his genius for publicity, is playing the law-and-order card, in calling for Apple to do what the FBI wants.”
I use both iPhone & Samsung. If Apple doesn't give info to authorities on the terrorists I'll only be using Samsung until they give info.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Newman writes, “Public opinion seems split on the issue of whether Apple should comply with the FBI, especially since nobody really cares about the privacy of a terrorist sympathetic to ISIS who murdered 14 civilians at an office party.”
MacDailyNews Take: And because Americans are, in general, so poorly educated – a third have never heard of the man often referred to as “the most influential justice of the last quarter-century” (and who would have been on Apple’s side, no doubt) – they likely think Orwell is a good boat rower.
These are the type of American morons who buy Samsung phones while complaining about the lack of U.S. jobs. Like Donald Trump.
“Here’s my prediction: Apple is going to cave, and find a way to unlock the San Bernardino phone so the FBI can have a look. Not because Trump said they should, but because public opinion is going to shift in favor of the FBI as the case gains more notoriety and more people realize what’s at stake,” Newman writes. “The company will also decide a long series of legal appeals are more trouble than they’re worth, especially if there’s a chance of losing in the end. Apple, after all, is a consumer products company, and it has edged away from hard-line policies before when consumers have edged it along. That’s one reason it tightened up the security of its phones in the first place.”
“Trump will undoubtedly claim credit if Apple accedes to the FBI. He won’t deserve it,” Newman writes. “But we should acknowledge his deft ability to sense where public opinion is heading before it actually gets there. Apple should, too.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We shall see. What do you think, will Tim Cook cave in the face of a woefully uneducated portion of the U.S. public — many of whom cannot understand the ramifications of their next Big Mac Attack, much less recognize their Constitutional rights being usurped right in front of their slightly crossed eyes — before exhausting all appeals up the the U.S. Supreme Court?
SEE ALSO:
Apple: Terrorist’s Apple ID password changed in government custody, blocking access – February 19, 2016
Petition asks Obama administration to stop demanding Apple create iPhone backdoor – February 19, 2016
Newspaper editorials back Apple over U.S. government 8 to 1 – February 19, 2016
Apple likely to invoke First Amendment free-speech rights in against U.S. government backdoor demands – February 19, 2016
Donald Trump calls for Apple boycott over San Bernardino terrorist iPhone encryption – February 19, 2016
Secret memo details U.S. government’s broader strategy to crack phones – February 19, 2016
DOJ escalates war against Apple, files new motion to compel company to break into iPhone – February 19, 2016
Apple is still fighting Big Brother – February 19, 2016
Apple co-founder Woz: Steve Jobs would have fought this U.S. government overreach, too – February 19, 2016
Mother who lost son in San Bernardino terrorist attack sides with Apple against U.S. government backdoor demands – February 19, 2016
iPhones don’t kill people, people kill people – February 19, 2016
The constitution and the right to privacy it confers on US citizens, was put knowing that bad guys could abuse it.
But the Fathers of the Constitution put it there to protect the average citizen from harassment by the government or anyone else.
You can’t do both.