My understanding is that a Federal Judge has issued an Order to Apple to unlock that phone. My understanding of the constitutional requirements is that a search order signed by a Judge is a constitutionally valid order.
We accept this methodology when it comes to our homes and our property, and I do not see any compelling reason why the same methodology should not also apply to data storage systems such as a Phone.
This current flap is not about the government having easy access to all devices. It is about getting court-ordered access by this device used by Terrorists who are also dead, and so no longer have any right to privacy anyway.
I'm sure Apple is trying to present it as being about everyone else, because when people do not wish to comply with something, they try to throw up roadblocks in any manner they are able. In this case, they are trying to stir up political opposition by scaring everyone else.
It is a dodge, and nothing else.
“My understanding is that a Federal Judge has issued an Order to Apple to unlock that phone. My understanding of the constitutional requirements is that a search order signed by a Judge is a constitutionally valid order.”
Then let the judge try to enforce it.
“This current flap is not about the government having easy access to all devices.”
The “backdoor” if it exists WOULD be used to grant the government easy access to all devices if Apple complies with this order. If you believe otherwise, you are not skeptical enough of your government.
If Apple stands firm and the government continues to whine about not being able to break this encryption, that will do more to boost their sales than anything else they can do.
The time to stop terror is before terrorists kill people. We see it time and again - Boston, this event, that the government had all the information they needed to intervene and stop the killing of Americans but did not. Nobody has been held accountable for that.
This current flap is about preventing effective encryption from being employed by regular Americans, so that the government can spy on them for whatever reason they want to. It is also about spying for bureaucratic (or more nefarious) advantage.
This is not about hacking into one phone. The FBI wants Apple to create a tool that can be used to hack into ANY Apple product.
That’s the problem.
Several years ago we were outraged with the idea of a National Drivers License or the “Know Your Customer” programs in financial institutions. Now we hardly raise an eyebrow. As a nation we have have accepted this as the norm. I am a private law abiding citizen. I want to live my life (as boring as it is) as our Founding Fathers intended-away from the intrusive eyes of the government.