In rebuking Apple “for their new smartphone encryption polices on Thursday, FBI Director James B. Comey became the latest law enforcement official to evoke worst-case scenario arguments: What of the child predator, the murderer, the terrorist? Wouldn’t you want police to be able to get into their phones?” Craig Timberg writes for The Washington Post.
MacDailyNews Take: That’s what fear mongers do. They use of fear, scare tactics, to try to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end.
“This type of argument can be brought into even sharper relief by posing the hardest imaginable case: What if the FBI got its hands on Osama bin Laden’s iPhone?” Timberg writes. “Though it requires a stretch of imagination – especially given that SEAL Team Six killed bin Laden in 2011, and he didn’t use a cell phone in his final years – this example illuminates the complicated new legal and technical terrain created by Apple’s decision to release a mobile operating system that is so thoroughly encrypted that the company cannot unlock its devices for police, even if they have a search warrant.”
“It seems likely that a certain, tech-savvy brand of criminal will learn all the tricks – get iOS 8, turn off iCloud backups, use long passcodes and thwart detectives. That’s what made John J. Escalante, Chicago’s chief of detectives say, ‘Apple will become the phone of choice for the pedophile,'” Timberg writes. “Many civil liberties activists, no matter how much they may detest pedophiles, can live with that tradeoff. They want surveillance limited as much as possible, to particular, high-priority cases. They’re happy to have the government get into bin Laden’s iPhone — and into the smartphones used most of the world’s most serious criminals — just not at the price of giving police what amounts to a skeleton key to everyone else’s.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote just yesterday:
A note to FBI Director James B. Comey:
Dear lazy bastard,
Stop whining and go read the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution for what sounds like will be the first time in your life.
Again, prior to 2007, there were no evidence bonanzas from warrantless searches and seizures available right in suspects’ pockets and, yet, somehow, law enforcement personnel actually managed to solve crimes without infringing citizen’s basic constitutional rights. Use valid search warrants the way you used them before Steve Jobs gave the world the modern smartphone and tablet.
Let’s go back to following the U.S. Constitution, shall we? If it takes force from leaders like Apple for constitutional rights to be enforced, so be it.
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
FBI blasts Apple for protective users’ privacy by locking government, police out of iPhones and iPads – September 25, 2014
Apple thinks different about privacy – September 23, 2014
Apple’s iOS Activation Lock reduces iPhone thefts, Samsung phone thefts skyrocket – September 18, 2014
Apple CEO Tim Cook ups privacy to new level, takes direct swipe at Google – September 18, 2014
Apple will no longer unlock most iPhones, iPads for government, police – even with search warrants – September 18, 2014
Would you trade privacy for national security? Most Americans wouldn’t – August 6, 2014
Apple begins encrypting iCloud email sent between providers – July 15, 2014
Obama administration demands master encryption keys from firms in order to conduct electronic surveillance against Internet users – July 24, 2013
U.S. NSA seeks to build quantum computer to crack most types of encryption – January 3, 2014
Apple’s iMessage encryption trips up U.S. feds’ surveillance – April 4, 2013
Law enforcement routinely thinks that you are guilty until proven innocent. Guess they have their work cut out for them now. That’s right, back to real police work. Stop whining.
The truth is, were I a terrorist, I wouldn’t go anywhere near a consistent mobile phone.
What if Obama had an iPhone?
Ah what another MEGA ego article to have fun with.
First of all the MEGA “we are the only ones” ego attitude of the United Hates can be clearly seen here: “To dispense quickly with the legal issues: Bin Laden, as a non-U.S. citizen residing abroad, would get little or no constitutional protection”
Yes, it’s good to dispense quickly with the “legal” issues that read “we’ll pass laws that suit the government’s needs, not the subjects.” Forget the fact that Pakistan has a constitution and Saudi Arabia (Bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian) has a a constitution-like charter. Doesn’t matter though, he was never brought to justice, he was murdered, assassinated if you will by another terrorist sect. That’s what really keeps the free world safe, sitting on the sidelines and letting the terrorist bash themselves into oblivion while enjoying popcorn.
Let’s move on to that core of all issues, the worst case scenario: “What of the child predator, the murderer, the terrorist? Wouldn’t you want police to be able to get into their phones?”
To gain insight into these questions really requires looking into one case scenario of a terrorist responsible for crimes against humanity and that is none other than G.W. Bush. Heck people, including the police have all sorts of access to information about this tyrant and his followers. The lies to the UN about weapons of mass destruction, the torture and a string of unethical and immoral acts that really makes it a no brainer. G.W.Bush is a mass murdering, terrorist that should be brought to justice.
He won’t do even though the police have all the information they need to lock this scum up for a very very very long time. Why does this criminal escape justice? Simple, “because President Obama has declined to pursue criminal charges against officials of George W. Bush’s administration for torture and other illegal conduct as part of the war on terror, declaring that the United States must “look forward, as opposed to looking backwards.”
This spin most definitely would work on the gullible followers of the United Hates as they wave their starry eyed fags for all to see how great they think they are. Still those with neurons still actively firing realize that those who ignore their history are doomed to repeat it and have no future.
The result is pretty clear: IRAQ III: Syriassly.
These monsters like Bin Laden, G.W. Bush along with the historical monsters like Adolf Hitler and Mussolini do use the technology of the day to their advantage but the real tool that they use is their ability to subjugate the masses. The free world has little use for scum like that, and it’s always good to know that even with the most advanced and sophisticated technology available those without the moral and ethical high ground are doomed to failure.
So give the terrorists a phone, it won’t help them.
There will be no justice for Bin Laden the United Hates took that away from him and in doing so denied justice for the free world. There will be no justice for G.W. Bush, again the United Hates is denying that to the free world.
Fortunately that leaves Karma and boy is it ever going to be a bitch. Mind you there still is time. Yes there might be a squad of marines left with integrity. The integrity to research, plan and act to bring George W. Bush to the Hague to answer for his crimes against humanity. That would go a long way in helping that country dig itself out of the hole but I doubt it, the Demoncracy is growing and it’s evil spreading until a true champion arises to take the global bully down and give it what it fails to provide others.
Justice.
Tin foil hat alert!
actually, his phone is positioned correctly, it’s his goddamned head that’s on upside-down.