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Apple Refused China Request For Source Code In Last Two Years: Lawyer (reuters.com)

Dustin Volz, reporting for Reuters: Apple has been asked by Chinese authorities within the last two years to hand over its source code but refused to do so, the company's top lawyer told U.S. lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday. Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell made the statement in response to a line of attack from law enforcement officials who have attempted to portray Apple as complicit in handing over information to Chinese authorities for business reasons while refusing to cooperate with U.S. requests for access to private data in criminal investigations. Apple and the FBI returned to Washington to testify before lawmakers about their heated disagreement over law enforcement access to encrypted devices, highlighted in the case of a locked iPhone linked to a gunman in last December's Islamist militant-inspired shootings in San Bernardino, California. Earlier in the hearing before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Captain Charles Cohen, commander in the Indiana State Police, repeated the suggestion that Apple has quietly cooperated with Beijing. But when pressed by Representative Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat, for the source of that claim, Cohen only cited news reports. "That takes my breath away," a visibly frustrated Eshoo said. "That is a huge allegation."In some other Apple news, the Cupertino-based company complied with 80% of U.S. law enforcement requests in the second half of 2015, its just released transparency report shows. U.S. law enforcement asked Apple for information 4,000 times, covering 16,112 devices in the second half of 2015.

12 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. which is worse by supernova87a · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In my mind, handing over source code might be less damaging than handing over encryption keys, which is what the DOJ was suggesting at one point in their brief/response to the All Writs Order...

  2. In other news... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    The FBI is looking for a fig leaf to cover up the fact that they tried to establish a legal precedent through deceit. Your tax dollars at work.

  3. Time for them to be Made in the USA or they can be by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Time for them to be Made in the USA or they can be black listed from us GOV use.

  4. Except that China has flagrantly violated copyrigh by tekrat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    China routinely ignores copyright when it suits them. If Apple was to hand over the source code, I suspect that there would be, just a few months later, *EXACT* iPhone "clones" complete with 100% compatible operating system, except jail-broken of course, available for $100 each.

    And then poof -- Apple is out of business.

    And they would sport names such as "Arple IF-one" to really, really, make you wince. Right now, China is producing cars that look like BMWs, for domestic use within China. China is making $30 ham-radios that are clones of a Kenwood design, and the Kenwood is a $150 radio.

    How are you going to compete with that? They do almost zero R&D, and then make cheap copies of existing products using the existing R&D of some other firm. When we get to the point of China making everything and all other companies are out of business, expect to see no innovation for decades that follow.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
  5. Re: Except that China has flagrantly violated copy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We went through this with Japan, eventually the people/companies that become successful start making their own stuff because it's easier.

    Regardless if they get there over time without cheating or cheat their way, eventually we are going to have to face a competition of competent Chinese businesses that can do the same things as the rest of the world. They are just shaving some time off of that process.

  6. Re:Except that China has flagrantly violated copyr by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How are you going to compete with that? They do almost zero R&D, and then make cheap copies of existing products using the existing R&D of some other firm. When we get to the point of China making everything and all other companies are out of business, expect to see no innovation for decades that follow.

    Thats pretty much standard for any country trying to catch up to more advanced industrial nations. The US did it when we began industrializing and once we had enough homegrown companies developing technology we all of a sudden became big fans of patent and copyright protection. Once people start stealing form China they'll come around as well.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  7. Re:can be seen as Treason by EvilSS · · Score: 2

    Every president ever impeached was impeached after they were sworn in ;) Kind of hard to do it before.

    Now if you are talking about right after he's sworn in, to invalidate his election, well.... That would be political suicide on a grand scale if Trump won with a majority vote. it would set the modern precedent that Congress, if so inclined, could just override and cancel out the election of any president they didn't like. Considering the extremism present in both parties these days this would not be a good precedent to set.

    Now if he does something to get legitimately impeached, then well what are you going to do. He's a tool and probably will.

    --
    I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
  8. Re:About the original firestorm by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

    Any more on that? They got in right? What'd they learn?

    Cat videos.

  9. Re:Except that China has flagrantly violated copyr by flargleblarg · · Score: 3, Funny

    And they would sport names such as "Arple IF-one" to really, really, make you wince.

    What would really make me wince is: Aqqle iPhome 6 Prus

  10. Re: Except that China has flagrantly violated copy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, your "something" was wrong, in no small part due to the fact that the OP was right.

    If you don't do your own R&D, you'll never be able to produce anything *original*.
    If you don't do your own R&D, your competitors will *always* make it to market first, so you give up 'first mover' advantage.
    Those two reasons (among many others) are how companies build market share.

  11. Re:Except that China has flagrantly violated copyr by somenickname · · Score: 2

    The difference is that there wasn't a global economy during those times (at least not on the scale we have today). During those times, If a company in Germany developed a very robust widget and an American company directly copied it, the impact wasn't catastrophic to the German company. Now, with R&D done in one country and manufacturing done in another, if your manufacturer goes rogue, he can cause real and potentially fatal harm to your business.

  12. Re:Except that China has flagrantly violated copyr by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

    Note the the original patent laws denied protection for foreign patents. For further reading here are two sources:

    https://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20130228/01324622146/yes-us-industrial-revolution-was-built-piracy-fraud.shtml

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-02-01/piracy-and-fraud-propelled-the-u-s-industrial-revolution

    The bottom line is countries do what they feel is needed to catch up with the rest of the world. That's not to say the US wasn't innovation but even so they used various means to get an advantage by taking other countries ideas and copying them, and ultimately improving them.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.