Some thoughts:
- Is the encryption fight the fight the technology industry really wants to start?
- If it continues down the path it’s on, the technology industry will be fighting a war with those who have fully cooperated with the pursuit of its highly effective -- and highly lucrative -- digital mission. Alienating those on the technology bandwagon – especially if they’re lawmakers, judges, law enforcement professionals or consumers – will shine a bright light on other technology industry “best practices” as well, such as outsourced manufacturing, corporate inversion and tax subsidies of all shapes and sizes, among other advantages Apple and its compatriots have converted into enormous wealth for its executives, employees and shareholders.
- Please remember that the very freedoms that Apple seeks to protect are sourced on the open platform of government-protected democratic capitalism.
- This is the wrong fight at the wrong time for all of the wrong reasons.
I am a lifelong, card-carrying technologist.
I also highly value my privacy.
I’m also a citizen of planet earth – and, if it’s even relevant, not a political conservative.
(Even less relevant, though interesting, is the h-u-g-e number of
Apple and the technology industry are “wrong” about encryption. “Wrong” is in quotes because this is not a clean issue; there are no easy choices.
But there are reasonable compromises that should drive the outcome of this dispute.
Here’s some context worth considering.
What if it’s discovered that the FBI, CIA or the intelligence community could have prevented a 9/11-like catastrophe if they had access to encrypted data? What do we think the reaction would be? What if it were discovered that because of the technology industry’s insistence on protecting digital data, terrorists were able to commit horrific crimes? Or that it was impossible to solve crimes after the fact? Or discover threats about to become preventable mass shootings?
Who would be held accountable?
What about the crass relationship between principles and revenue? Does anyone think that if a direct linkage between encryption and terrorism was established there would be no impact on the technology industry? Am I the only one who believes that a backlash would convert to recriminations and some form of financial punishment?
There are counter-terrorist paths to cooperation that Apple and the technology industry should proactively find. They should not dig their heels in and hold their breath until they die – or until innocent people might die. This is not a good look for Apple or the technology industry.
So what is the relationship between principle and protection?
Inflammatory references to unlockable “back doors” and “privacy dominos” are not helpful. Tim Cook’s statement is also not helpful because it’s expressed as a challenge and places “engineers” and the entire engineering community in a strangely awkward position:
“The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers – including tens of millions of American citizens – from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.”
He then adds fuel to the fire:
“The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.”
Inflammatory language (“chilling”) and fear/uncertainty/doubt (“the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data”) are not helpful or appropriate.
Obviously, Apple and the technology industry benefit enormous numbers of digital citizens – including me – with their amazing products and processes. It’s safe to say that the technology industry is the near-exclusive engine of the new economy. We all owe the technology industry a great deal for the wealth it has created for many of our citizens and the personal and professional efficiencies it has generated.
But it’s also safe to say that the trillions of dollars that Apple and the technology industry generate in revenue are attributable to the “safe haven” that stable capitalist democracies directly enable.
More to the point, the very freedoms that Apple seeks to protect are sourced on the open platform of government-protected democratic capitalism.
There are always exceptions to what otherwise is a solid privacy principle. Apple has already set the precedent of extracting data from phones in the past to help law enforcement in special cases. The current architecture, OS and password processes of Apple devices make it more difficult – though not impossible – for Apple to continue its own precedent, but is that reason enough to deny access to data that might help foil terrorist plots? Or is it a doubling-down on a policy that perhaps has been rethought after previous cooperation?
Note how Kim Zetter, writing in Wired Magazine, describes a very important aspect of the situation:
“Apple specifically altered its software in 2014 to ensure that it would not be able to unlock customer phones and decrypt any of the most important data on them; but it turns out it overlooked a loophole in doing this that the government is now trying to exploit. The loophole is not about Apple unlocking the phone but about making it easier for the FBI to attempt to unlock it on its own. If the controversy over the San Bernardino phone causes Apple to take further steps to close that loophole so that it can’t assist the FBI in this way in the future, it could be seen as excessive obstinance and obstruction by Capitol Hill. And that could be the thing that causes lawmakers to finally step in with federal legislation that prevents Apple and other companies from locking the government out of devices.”
Apple and the technology industry are obviously aware of this possible chain of events, right? Criteria should be legally and very carefully defined for access to encrypted data – and only under very special circumstances. This is where the fight should occur. Terrorism is a growing form of warfare, regardless if it’s “institutional” or “lone-wolf.” It’s a whole lot cheaper than building aircraft carrier groups, that’s for sure. So it’s here to stay. Social media is just one of the platforms used by terrorists to recruit, organize and plan. There are others and there will be more, as digital communications becomes fully pervasive. Reasonable professionals can accommodate both sides of the (privacy) principle-versus-protection argument – without simultaneously exposing the world to nefarious hackers or allowing terrorists and other criminals’ unfettered communication among themselves. If Apple and the technology industry cling to their unwavering privacy position – and the government clings to its indiscriminate position regarding access – no compromise is possible, and without compromise there’s no guarantee that terrorists and other criminals will be prevented from wreaking havoc on innocent citizens of the United States and other countries around the world, or that individual privacy will be protected.
Is Apple a country responsible for protecting its citizens from terrorist catastrophes? No.
Is the technology industry above global responsibility or accountability? No.
What responsibility does a US-based corporation have to its host country? What responsibility does any corporation have to its host country? Not to mention innocent people.
Like I said, this is a tough, complicated issue. But Apple and the technology industry – and the governments trying to protect its citizens – must compromise.
The rhetoric and heel digging we’ve seen thus far are not helpful. But at the end of the day, is this really a fight the technology industry wants to start?
If it continues down the path it’s on, the technology industry will be fighting the wrong war with those who have fully cooperated with the pursuit of its digital mission. Alienating those on the technology bandwagon – regardless if they’re lawmakers, judges, law enforcement professionals or consumers – will shine a bright light on other technology industry “best practices” as well, such as outsourced manufacturing, corporate inversion and tax subsidies of all shapes and sizes, among other advantages Apple and its compatriots have converted into enormous wealth for its executives, employees and shareholders.
We all know how this war ends: the question is what the collateral damage looks like when everyone stops protecting their respective corners.
Again: is this really a fight Apple and the technology industry want to start?
