“It took just a few hours for the Justice Dept. to gauge how its legal action against Apple would be perceived by the public,” Zack Whittaker reports for ZDNet. “Not long after a California court released an order compelling Apple to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, there was an outpouring of support in Apple’s favor, and little compassion for the government’s case.”
“Within hours of reading headlines with words like “backdoor,” Apple responded to the growing public empathy with a letter on its website stating that the company will ‘oppose this order,'” Whittaker reports. “But in the days running up to the judge signing the court order, the Justice Dept. had ‘stacked the deck’ against the iPhone maker, according to a person with direct knowledge of the case.”
“It was a move to thrust the long-standing debate over encryption between tech companies and law enforcement into the public eye — one that the government reportedly ended up regretting,” Whittaker reports. “With the Justice Dept. pushing for an unprecedented kind of order, the government was poised to launch a public relations campaign, said a source, in an effort to pull at the public heartstrings of those who suffered as a result of the shootings… The Justice Dept. wanted to draw outrage, painting Apple as the criminal.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Looks like the current administrations transparent and despicable attempt to “never let a serious crisis go to waste,” has stirred up a hornet’s nest of righteous and informed opposition.
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
SEE ALSO:
Richard Clarke: U.S. government more interested in setting legal precedent than solving the problem of one iPhone – March 15, 2016
Obama criticized for ‘tone deaf’ comments at SXSW regarding Apple’s fight against government overreach – March 14, 2016
The U.S. government’s fight with Apple could backfire big time – March 14, 2016
John Oliver just smartly explained Apple’s fight against U.S. government overreach – March 14, 2016
U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa at SXSW: ‘Hold your iPhone a little bit higher, so the FBI can hear us better’ – March 14, 2016
Obama pushes for iPhone back door; Congressman Issa blasts Obama’s ‘fundamental lack of understanding’ – March 12, 2016
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch backs U.S. government overreach on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – March 11, 2016
Former CIA Director: FBI wants to dictate iPhone’s operating system – March 11, 2016
U.S. government takes cheap shots at Apple – March 11, 2016
FBI warns it could demand Apple’s iPhone code and secret electronic signature – March 10, 2016
California Democrat Diane Feinstein backs U.S. government overreach over Apple – March 10, 2016
Snowden: U.S. government’s claim it can’t unlock San Bernardino iPhone is ‘bullshit’ – March 10, 2016
Apple: The law already exists that protects us from U.S. government demands to hack iPhone – February 26, 2016
Apple said to be prepping iOS version that even it can’t hack – February 25, 2016
Apple could easily lock rights-trampling governments out of future iPhones – February 20, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook lashes out at Obama administration over encryption, bemoans White House lack of leadership – January 13, 2016
Short-timer U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder blasts Apple for protecting users’ privacy against government overreach – September 30, 2014
Obama administration demands master encryption keys from firms in order to conduct electronic surveillance against Internet users – July 24, 2013
