Ed Board

Should the FBI have special access to Apple phones?

An article in the Leader-Telegram said Apple is looking to make its fight with the FBI over accessing a locked and encrypted iPhone from one of the terrorists of the San Bernardino shooting a matter for congress.

A California judge last week ordered Apple to create specialized software for the FBI that would weaken the digital locks on iPhones. According to the article, Apple is currently challenging government efforts to overcome encryption on at least 14 other electronic devices nationwide.

Apple argues the 1789 All Writs Act, which has been used to compel companies to provide assistance to law enforcement in investigations, is not appropriate since it has never been used to compel a company to write software to help the government, according to the article.

Members of The Spectator editorial board said they do not believe Apple should allow this kind of access to its phones and said decrypting one phone could be a slippery slope to a larger variety of cases.

“If they were to allow it this time,” one member said, “then who’s to say that in the future they wouldn’t allow it and slowly get to a lesser and lesser degree of severity.”

Some members said this could prove risky on a national scale, comparing the FBI’s demand to an act of war on American figureheads. Mark Bartholomew, a SUNY Buffalo professor specializing in cyber law, said this type of request is “violative of Apple’s independence,” according to the article.

Another member said the FBI already has access to a large amount of information, which was brought to the people’s attention due to Edward Snowden, and that the government is looking for a safer alternative.

“They kind of have to be careful because people were pretty upset after that happened, understandably so,” another member said. “Whether they do have access or not, I think they’re trying to go a more legal route.”