With the news that the FBI has requested that a backdoor be built into future iPhones, Google’s Sundar Pichai backs Apple over privacy concerns
Following news yesterday which revealed that the FBI had requested Apple build a secret means of access into future iPhones, a suprising vote of support has emanated from none other than Google, whose CEO, Sundar Pichai, backs Apple over the company’s concerns surrouding privacy and the role of encrpytion in the future.
Whereas Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the company’s front page in a letter addressed to consumers, Pichai offered a succinct but valuable measure of support from Twitter.
1/5 Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users‘ privacy
“” sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016
Read: Tim Cook blasts FBI request for iPhone access
The Google CEO went on to elaborate that he acknowledges the difficulties faced by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in protecting the public against crime, but warned that requiring companies to enable hacking customer devices and data would be a troubling precedent.
In a subsequent tweet, Pichai stated that he looked forward to a thoughtful discussion on the issue.
Yesterday, Cook stated that Apple would counter the FBI’s request, saying that “œWe are challenging the FBI‘s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country“¦While we believe the FBI‘s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect“.
The ensuing confrontation is likely to become a landmark battle of wills between US legislature and major tech players such as Google and Apple.
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