Rallies supporting Apple's stance on privacy see lukewarm response

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in General Discussion edited February 2016
Internet rights advocacy group Fight for the Future staged a series of rallies in support of Apple's encryption fight on Tuesday, though the nationwide gatherings managed only to attract small groups of stalwart activists.


Man flaunts apple at FFTF rally outside Santa Monica Apple Store. | Source: Jon Erlichman via Twitter


According to on-the-scene reports relayed through Twitter and other social media platforms, the rallies -- planned outside of Apple Store locations in all 50 states, as well as some international locations -- in some cases drew groups of about five to ten people, on the low end. About 8 supporters braved the rain outside of Apple's flagship New York store, for example.

As noted by USA Today, FFTF expected no more than 50 to 75 people per store. Last week saw a larger crowd at an identical rally held at Apple's San Francisco flagship, where protestors brandished iPhones bearing an Electronic Frontier Foundation sticker reading, "I do not consent to the search of this device."

Apple is embroiled in a court battle with the FBI over government requests for assistance in hacking into an iPhone connected to last year's San Bernardino massacre. As part of an ongoing investigation, the Justice Department wants to glean data off an iPhone 5c used by shooting suspect and San Bernardino Health Department worker Syed Rizwan Farook, who was assigned the device by his former employer. Attempts to crack the device's passcode have been unsuccessful.

Last week a federal judge ordered Apple comply with an FBI request to create a software workaround capable of bypassing the protected phone's passcode attempt counter. Apple is resisting that order.

For its part, Apple agreed to cooperate with FBI data retrieval efforts in January, subsequently helping agents procure iCloud backups associated with Farook's iPhone. Because the device is protected by iOS 9's end-to-end encryption, Apple says it's nearly impossible to hack, though the company did suggest a workaround involving iCloud and an iOS feature that automatically connects iPhones to known Wi-Fi networks. Unfortunately, the San Bernardino Health Department reset Farook's Apple ID on request of the FBI, rendering that particular option invalid.

Forcing Apple to create a proof-of-concept hack not only weakens iOS security, but sets a dangerous precedent that could result in calls for institutionalized software backdoors by less savory international governments, the company argues. On the other hand, the FBI contends Farook's iPhone 5c may contain data vital to national security, adding that Apple's workaround will only be applied to the investigation at hand. Those claims are in question, however, as a court filing on Tuesday revealed the federal government asserted the All Writs Act of 1789 -- the same law cited to break into Farook's handset -- to compel Apple's assistance in decrypting at least nine iPhones unrelated to the San Bernardino case.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    What about the accounts of the murderers two private phones that they crushed? The Feds get information from them?

    oh and as for that "just one phone"? NYC says they have 170 they're waiting tobshove down Apple's throat. 
    edited February 2016
    dasanman69jmey267
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  • Reply 2 of 19
    Rallies rarely get anything more than lukewarm unless it's direct 'outrage' .. and those tend to turn into riots.. so.. be happy it's lukewarm.
    AniSpamSandwich
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  • Reply 3 of 19
    jfc1138 said:
    What about the accounts of the murderers two private phones that they crushed? The Feds get information from them?

    oh and as for that "just one phone"? NYC says they have 170 they're waiting tobshove down Apple's throat. 
    I don't think those phones were connected to iCloud.. they don't even say they were iPhones.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 19
    Some Rally !? Ive seen bigger rallies in a Starbucks lineup at 11:45am. 


    If you you want to show your support call the AppleCare support line and voice your admiration for the cause.. Or write a letter to your local politician and get real about keeping your important data safe. 
    baconstangSpamSandwich
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  • Reply 5 of 19
    It seems that people don't give a F.. Until they become a victim and their privacy and security are invaded.. I'm losing hope in humanity.
    latifbplostkiwi
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 19
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    These sound like a bad idea. Outside of Apple Stores? REALLY?

    This makes Apple look like the bad guys. they need to rally outside government buildings like the whitehouse.
    edited February 2016
    baconstangpscooter63lostkiwi
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  • Reply 7 of 19
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,928member
    cali said:
    These sound like a bad idea. Outside of Apple Stores? REALLY?

    This makes Apple look like the bad guys. they need to rally outside government buildings like the whitehouse.
    They did rally outside some FBI offices. 
    Perhaps if the FBI banned protests in the name of safety, more people would give a damn. 
    cali
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 19
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Do you suppose Apple could fly their spaceship to Cork in Ireland?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 19
    We know how the corrupt government uses data for "terror related purposes." http://www.cjfe.org/snowden
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 19
    jfc1138 said:
    What about the accounts of the murderers two private phones that they crushed? The Feds get information from them?

    oh and as for that "just one phone"? NYC says they have 170 they're waiting tobshove down Apple's throat. 
    Ok, ask yourself this honest question 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 19
    It seems that people don't give a F.. Until they become a victim and their privacy and security are invaded.. I'm losing hope in humanity.
    How *do* you make it through a day in such a bleak world?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 19
    #TheBillOfRightsMatters

    Fortunately, since this will reach the Supreme Court it doesn't matter how many people "get it". People are typically woefully misinformed about their constitutionally protected rights. In other words, "it don't matter until it matters."
    edited February 2016
    cali
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  • Reply 13 of 19
    jsmythe00 said:
    Some Rally !? Ive seen bigger rallies in a Starbucks lineup at 11:45am. 


    If you you want to show your support call the AppleCare support line and voice your admiration for the cause.. Or write a letter to your local politician and get real about keeping your important data safe. 
    Or this

    https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/apple-privacy-petition
    Was just going to post this! Go and sign it.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 19
    What do you mean ‘fortunately’? With Scalia dead, they’re going to rule that Apple has to listen to anything the FBI says.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 19
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
  • Reply 16 of 19
    What do you mean ‘fortunately’? With Scalia dead, they’re going to rule that Apple has to listen to anything the FBI says.
    The court won't even address this until they get a new appointee. That happens after Trump is elected (an assumption on my part, of course). Is Trump likely to appoint a "conservative" to the SC?

    And I used the word "fortunately" because left to the general public (aka "the mobocracy"), there would be no Bill of Rights. The biggest "gang" would decide.
    edited February 2016
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  • Reply 17 of 19
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    In downtown Chicago, the rally outside an Apple Store was hijacked by protestors who've been loudly demonstrating for the last couple months against Chicago police, who shot down a young black offender in the middle of a street in the fall of 2014. This particular rally yesterday degenerated into a total fiasco.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-apple-store-rally-0223-biz-20160223-story.html

    That brought out dozens of comments today by people who hate the Chicago cops, the local government, Apple, the FBI, the Black Lives Matter movement - or anything else that malcontents can think up to be discontented about. Is this a great country, or what?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 19
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,358member
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