Apple v. FBI/DOJ
Ping!
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Posted on 03/17/2016 7:42:33 PM PDT by TroutStalker
If the F.B.I. wins its court fight to force Apple’s help in unlocking an iPhone, the agency may run into yet another roadblock: Apple’s engineers.
Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities. Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees.
Among those interviewed were Apple engineers who are involved in the development of mobile products and security, as well as former security engineers and executives.
The potential resistance adds a wrinkle to a very public fight between Apple, the world’s most valuable company, and the authorities over access to an iPhone used by one of the attackers in the December mass killing in San Bernardino, Calif.
It also speaks directly to arguments Apple has made in legal documents that the government’s demand curbs free speech by asking the company to order people to do things that they consider offensive.
“Such conscription is fundamentally offensive to Apple’s core principles and would pose a severe threat to the autonomy of Apple and its engineers,” Apple’s lawyers wrote in the company’s final brief to the Federal District Court for the Central District of California.
The employees’ concerns also provide insight into a company culture that despite the trappings of Silicon Valley wealth still views the world through the decades-old, anti-establishment prism of its co-founders Steven P. Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
“It’s an independent culture and a rebellious one,” said Jean-Louis Gassée, a venture capitalist who was once an engineering manager at Apple. “If the government tries to compel testimony or action from these engineers, good luck with that.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“Remember, a business is just people. “Force Apple to unlock the phone” many say. If those people capable of doing what the FBI demands refuse to, what then?”
AAPL will continue to pay the fines they will be assessed by refusing to obey a legal court order. The engineers will not be held liable, AAPL will. This is yet another emotional PR puff piece to elicit sympathy.
With each subsequent refusal to obey a legal court order, the fines will be applied. Kind of a reverse class action.
If AAPL is smart, they will force ALL customers to sign an agreement that clearly states that the customer will only be used for legal activities and will be responsible for the use of the device and will also be responsible for any fines or monetary damages from any or all legal problems that may occur as a result of their use of an apparatus that may cause them to be jailed, fined or otherwise involved in a legal action.
That way, they may get some suckers to agree and to help carry the legal financial load.
I would also advise a screen sticker with a warning on it, like cigarette packages wear.
After all, if you buy any product that could involve you in legal action, you should be advised of that by the seller. The law on this will be tricky. It is a little bit like buying an illegal gun from a show, thinking it is legal, then using it in a stick up and finding 2 felonies attached to it.
Or like using counterfeit money, even though you were unaware of it’s illegality, you will lose the money, at the least.
My thanks. I needed that laugh! *wipes away tears of hilarity*
I am reminded of that Dilbert cartoon where Dogbert is attempting to rally a group of vegitarians (vegans?) to march over to some gathering or other and fails spectacularly. *grin*
Maybe the FBI can find out where they live and then get a court order letting them hold the engineers at gun point while they are forced to write the code.
Heros
This sounds like one of those movies where the bad guys shoot the family dog, and hold the children at gunpoint to force cooperation. Except this isn't fiction, and our government is doing bad things to people.
Screw the feds.
Hell, Apple probably has more money than the government.
Let them rot in prison until such time they decide they will cooperate and obey the FBI; keep going down the line one after another until someone cooperates; the rest prosecute and incarcerate.
Prosecute them for what? Federal law specifically prevents the FBI from ordering a phone manufacturer to create any tool, software or other utility, or to require the phone maker to modify a phone design to defeat the security after the phone has been released to market. The FBI is trying to get a court to order what they are prohibited by law from ordering the company to do.
If, instead of declining to obey, the engineers quit, would you still put them in prison?
Court Order:
“You must write code that works!”
Apple Engineer:
“But, we’ve never done that before!”
Perhaps a court could order a cure for cancer?
Meanwhile, Google is pushing OAuth 2.0 and wasting customers’ time by rejecting logins from non-GMail e-mail clients (MUAs). Google says that MUAs written by others are not secure enough.
The history of the man who developed PGP is very related to the Apple story and quite interesting.
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The government is (at least) 17 trillion in the hole.
*I* have more money than the government.
Agree. It’s not just about obeying the FBI, though. It’s about obeying legitimate authority following due process in accordance with the Constitution. Apple and it’s engineers are anarchists.
If this court order is upheld on appeal, then throw the book at them - obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting murder, terrorism; conspiracy, and maybe even violating RICO. Put the company out of business.
They helped force Indiana to repeal it’s law protecting free exercise of religion wrt homosexual marriage.
I have no regard for them, and any other super-national company acting as if they are above the law.
and then it was your turn ...
In this case AAPL is not the bad guy - the FBI is explicitly going aganst law - and so are NOT a ‘legitimate authority.’
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