If the cops think I have evidence of a crime in my possession, they get a warant, they search my home. No problem.
Apple is not involved in a crime.
The criminal is dead.
The cops can search the criminal's home. No problem.
The cops are going to a major corporation and trying to force that corporation to perform an action.
Warrants are not used in that way. Until now.
Might the police hire a locksmith to brake into a residence after the had received a search warrant?
I am in 100% agreement.
Communication data on encrypted devices is available through ISP's and NSA. Anything else would be considered our "papers and effects" by the Founding Fathers; photos, documents, notes, even the actual text of text messages. Our papers are our papers. It does not matter if they are in a desk, a glove compartment or on an encrypted device.
If LEO wants access to our papers on a device, they can seize the phone after obtaining a warrant. If the owner refuses to unlock the device, it is an issue between him and a Judge to be resolved in Court.
The FBI is asking for a step which does create a back door. Any means of unlocking an encrypted device through a back door clears the path to the next step. The ultimate goal is for any device to be warranted and searched without the knowledge of the owner. Why are back doors used? To avoid detection. Think 'Sneak & Peek.'
I reject the idea our papers and effects should be required by law (or the Courts) to be secured in such a way that authorities will always have access. To believe so is to believe the government has rights.
The government does not have rights. There are conditions under which the the government can operate, but the burden is and has always been on the government to meet those conditions. If the FBI prevails, we are well on our way to granting the government the 'right to know' which will outweigh our privacy rights. That is not freedom. It is not the system I want to leave for my grandchildren.
Lastly, if San Bernadino County had practiced its due diligence & the FBI had not requested a password change of password before consulting Apple, we would not be having this discussion. The information on that particular iPhone cannot be retrieved because of what San Bernadino County did not do and because of what the FBI did. They screwed up, not Apple.