Apple v. FBI

I stand with Apple in their debate with the FBI to release private customer information off devices.

Privacy is something which I value, and I would say some of the most private information is enclosed on my iPhone. I would like to assume that the same goes for most iPhone users, especially students.

How would you feel if you handed over your phone to someone and they had unlimited access to any piece of information without a single parameter?

The issue is tough to tackle, however, I would never feel okay with less protection and the idea of encryption loosening, which is what the FBI ordered Apple to follow through with.

Privacy for millions of Apple iPhone users may be at stake regardless of the company’s compliance. The debate between Apple and the FBI continues to mount since the FBI first asked Apple to create an easier pathway to access information from personal devices.

In the company’s initial open letter to customers in mid-February, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, said it would be “wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products.”

I feel that Apple, which is a private company, has the interest of their customers at heart. The FBI wanted a new route to access private information. This would benefit for situations such as the San Bernardino massacre, but at the same time, average, everyday users would be giving up their right to privacy.

Losing a great deal of privacy will obviously lead to a greater risk for exposure. At the same time, if Apple were to comply with the orders received by the FBI, they would be putting themselves at risk of losing a large amount of customers.

I know that I would not continue to purchase Apple products if they were to release a wealth of access to the government. The FBI is asking for access to information, but they do not specify how far they will reach into someones privacy.

While some might argue that we shouldn’t include deeply personal information on our devices, whether they like it or not, the world has become primarily technology based.

On the other hand, deeply personal information should be heavily considered when used on social media platforms. While networks claim to be private, truly anything published on the internet becomes public.

I understand that the FBI had good intentions and truly wanted the privacy removed for the terrorists involved in the San Bernardino shootings.

However, as Apple has said in their letter and several following media interviews, the government has ordered the company to reroute their previous methods and basically tone down their security methods — which have been put in place since the company’s inception.

As of late March, the FBI went through a separate, third-party company called Celebrate, to hack into the terrorists’ phones and obtain the needed information.