Maddie's Matters
By Maddie LaPlante-Dube, Columnist
If the FBI wins its battle with Apple over unlocking one of the San Bernardino terrorist's phone, it could set a really dangerous precedent for the privacy of digital and cellular service users.
And, problematically, the battle also doubles as a really, really good public relations stunt for our surveillance savvies in the government.
The San Bernardino attacks were the worst terrorist attacks since 9/11, and the deadliest mass shooting in America since the massacre at Sandy Hook in 2012. The victims were environmental health specialists and county employees, and three of the deceased were not even American. They were fleeing from their respective countries to get away from violence and persecution.
The intention of this article is not to discount their deaths or injuries, nor is it to validate in any way the actions of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. And, despite popular belief, the same is the case with Apple's choice not to create a backdoor code for the FBI.
Living under a rock and haven't heard of the case? Here are some important details: The FBI wants Apple to create a bypass code that will allow them to unlock one of the killer's phones. If they try to guess the pass code on their own, they run the risk of deleting all of the data stored in the device (a handy safety measure encoded into iPhones by Apple). Seems like a simple request, right?
That's how the FBI is framing it, anyway.
FBI Director James Comey recently issued a statement saying that Apple essentially owes it to the victims of the shooting to allow this kind of access.
"The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message. It is about the victims and justice," Comey said in a blog post.
But it's not just about the victims and justice. In fact, the case that the FBI is bringing against Apple is not about granting access to just one phone (the case involves over 10 other iPhones, unmentioned by Comey in his statement). In addition to leaving out this crucial component of the case, the suit also comes at the exact right time to garner sympathy with the public - when tensions and fears are at an all-time high.
"The FBI chose this case very, very carefully," said Nate Cardozo, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to Wired.
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"That it's a terrorism case, in particular, spurs sympathies to align with law enforcement, regardless of how much benefit the FBI would actually get from the access it has requested," continued Brian Barrett in the same article.
It's the PR stunt of the century. Over half of Americans think Apple should just unlock the phone, but few understand its implications. Unlocking the iPhone means creating a new code that could be just as easily stolen or abused as any other, by hackers or the FBI, respectively.
"It would be great if we could make a backdoor that only the FBI could walk through, but that doesn't exist," Cardozo said. "And literally every single mathematician, cryptographer and computer scientist who's looked at it has agreed."
In an eerie harkening back to wiretapping after the 9/11 attacks, the FBI v. Apple case brings forward - yet again - issues about what we are willing to give up when we believe our security is at stake.
We know the FBI hasn't disclosed all of the information to the public (hello, 10 other iPhones), and we know how much control corporations like Apple have in our lives.
In some respects, the whole conflict just looks like a bunch of rich Silicon Valley execs are trying to win some sort of battle to keep their pride intact. But the execs at Apple understand what is at stake not only for their company, but also the country.
Personal privacy and public security are not separate. A sacrifice in one could mean the downfall of another.
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