Although law enforcement does a great job of protecting American citizens, they sometimes will infringe on the civil rights of their citizens in their pursuit of justice. I think Louis Brandies said it best in his dissenting opinion of the Olmstead case, "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." [0] In the fight between Apple and federal law enforcement over a locked iPhone, the government is overreaching because the collusion of what the executive and judicial branch is asking for does not resemble America’s democracy. The government in tandem is acting more like a totalitarian government by forcing a private company to do their bidding. If Apple allows the government
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Apple prides itself as having the strongest security system against brute force attacks on their devices because of their signature software. This reputation of Apple’s has helped the company become the global leader in smart phone device distribution. The government is asking Apple to place firmware on the phones disabling the latest erase data feature so they can brute force the phone. Essentially, the FBI is asking Apple to hack their own customers. [11] If customers find out about this sabotage they will stop updating their phone and either way the customer lose because they become prone to attacks with outdated protection. If Apple reputation takes a hit, customers who rely on Apple for security and privacy will choose to buy phones outside the country because foreign phone companies are not mandated to follow America’s courts or laws. [12] [13] In essence, The FBI will financially harm Apple’s business by helping boost sales for smart phone providers outside the U.S. This act will not only cost Apple billions, but has the potential to destroy the economic security of the tech sector for American companies. [14] Therefore, Apple should not comply with the warrant because the company is not a public utility working to serve the public interest. Apple is a private sector company that has the right to choose protecting the privacy of their customers and maintaining their business bottom line over helping the FBI or any other law enforcement agency. Investors in Apple should be secure in their investments, and that should be Apple’s first priority because Apple is a business not a de facto government
Apple prides itself as having the strongest security system against brute force attacks on their devices because of their signature software. This reputation of Apple’s has helped the company become the global leader in smart phone device distribution. The government is asking Apple to place firmware on the phones disabling the latest erase data feature so they can brute force the phone. Essentially, the FBI is asking Apple to hack their own customers. [11] If customers find out about this sabotage they will stop updating their phone and either way the customer lose because they become prone to attacks with outdated protection. If Apple reputation takes a hit, customers who rely on Apple for security and privacy will choose to buy phones outside the country because foreign phone companies are not mandated to follow America’s courts or laws. [12] [13] In essence, The FBI will financially harm Apple’s business by helping boost sales for smart phone providers outside the U.S. This act will not only cost Apple billions, but has the potential to destroy the economic security of the tech sector for American companies. [14] Therefore, Apple should not comply with the warrant because the company is not a public utility working to serve the public interest. Apple is a private sector company that has the right to choose protecting the privacy of their customers and maintaining their business bottom line over helping the FBI or any other law enforcement agency. Investors in Apple should be secure in their investments, and that should be Apple’s first priority because Apple is a business not a de facto government