We’re close to the panopticon society that authoritarians want so much. Apple was served a writ requiring they write software to circumvent an iPhone’s encryption. The FBI says all they want is reasonable cooperation, they’ll just use it on this one phone but not on the 12 other iPhones they can’t hack (or claim they can’t hack).

They say how can we protect America if you won’t whip us up the custom software we need to destroy your product? It won’t set a precedent, they claim. The phone’s user was a dead Muslim terrorist and the phone belonged to the government (wonder why they chose this case?).

Why does Apple put money above patriotism? How can law enforcement, spy agencies and the military function if they cannot tap, locate, triangulate and call in a fire mission on any suspicious telephone or computer? Do you want the Muslim terrorists to win? You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide.

This despite Apple’s total cooperation with all law enforcement requests until blind-sided with this ‘writ’ nonsense. They were happy to help and I am sure made a tidy sum writing such no-bid, custom software for the government-just like they did for the Chinese.

Maybe the US government can get their custom software written for the same price-good deal! But this software would destroy Apple and The FBI just can’t understand why Apple won’t cooperate in destroying itself.

Donald Trump tweeted for a boycott of Apple- sent from his iPhone. The USA won’t be so weak after he is inaugurated, he’s made that clear. FBI and law enforcement totally agree.

But once this coerced custom software is written it WILL be released sooner or later- the lure of greed and its extreme value ensure that. When there are known back doors they will be found, then government goons, hackers and the Red Chinese will own us.

It hits close to home here too. Since 2014 warrants are required to access cell phones and police hate that. Before, they could go rooting through the phone of a suspect looking for crime or pre-crime.

Rocklin Police Chief Ron Lawrence told the Roseville Press Tribune he believed “there will be crime that goes undetected as a result of this change.”

How’s that Chief? If there has been a crime you should have no trouble getting a warrant; if not then you don’t get to mount a fishing expedition in search of a crime. Since only rich people can afford to live there, I’m sure Rocklin has plenty of judges available to write warrants.

Now I detest Apple and most of what it stands for, its closed garden, user lock-in, dumbed down UI, patent hoarding and litigation, high price, weak specs, giving nothing back to BSD, cooperation with the Red Chinese and its colossal arrogance. But for now, damn, I have to say “go Apple”.

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