Apple Court Testimony Reveals Why It Refuses To Unlock iPhones For Police (dailydot.com)
blottsie writes: Newly unsealed court transcripts from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York show that Apple now refuses to unlock iPhones for law enforcement, saying "In most cases now and in the future, the government’s requested order would be substantially burdensome, as it would be impossible to perform." “Right now Apple is aware that customer data is under siege from a variety of different directions. Never has the privacy and security of customer data been as important as it is now,” Apple lawyer Marc Zwillinger said at the hearing. “A hypothetical consumer could think if Apple is not in the business of accessing my data and if Apple has built a system to prevent itself from accessing my data, why is it continuing to comply with orders that don’t have a clear lawful basis in doing so?”
And this is why we need clear laws demanding technology companies enable backdoors and that we pass laws that demand they use those backdoors any time anyone with a remote connection to law enforcements asks them to. Presto. "Clear lawful basis" problem solved.
They aren't standing up to anyone. They are saying it isn't possible currently. But if the government really insisted they would put a system in place where it was possible. As a bonus they would take some tax money to implement the system.
Why are you thinking that Apple is doing the right thing? They don't give a shit about you. Who do you think gave NSA access to their datastores? Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. No one is "standing up" to anyone.