FBI Director James Comey seeks to reassure Congress that Apple fight is not about precedent
The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not believe its battle with Apple will result in a legal precedent that could weaken encryption protections across the board if the bureau prevails, director James Comey told the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Comey said that the case is "unlikely to be a trailblazer," according to Reuters. Apple has taken the opposite position, with chief executive Tim Cook going so far as to call the court order the "software equivalent of cancer."
During his testimony, Comey did acknowledge that any decision handed down in the California matter would be "instructive for other courts" -- perhaps a worrying conceit, given that the bureau is seeking similar orders in at least nine other cases.
Still, that is not the agency's goal, Comey told the panel.
Instead, the debate over encryption -- which he called the "hardest question I've seen in government" -- is "really about who do we want to be as a country and how do we want to govern ourselves," he said.
Comey said that the case is "unlikely to be a trailblazer," according to Reuters. Apple has taken the opposite position, with chief executive Tim Cook going so far as to call the court order the "software equivalent of cancer."
During his testimony, Comey did acknowledge that any decision handed down in the California matter would be "instructive for other courts" -- perhaps a worrying conceit, given that the bureau is seeking similar orders in at least nine other cases.
Still, that is not the agency's goal, Comey told the panel.
Instead, the debate over encryption -- which he called the "hardest question I've seen in government" -- is "really about who do we want to be as a country and how do we want to govern ourselves," he said.
Comments
"There will come a day-well it comes every day in the business-when it will matter a great, great deal to the lives of people of all kinds that we be able to with judicial authorization gain access to a kidnappers' or a terrorist or a criminals device."
Comey is such a liar. He's been waiting for a while to seize an opportunity to have the government force their way into an iPhone via the court.
[noun pres-i-duh nt; adjective pri-seed-nt, pres-i-duhnt]
So this case won't serve as precedent or a trailblazer? Mr. Comey, you are only arguing with semantics or "wordsmithing."
Does he control the DOJ and all local juridictions, Does he control, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran , India, Malaysia, etc.
Does he know the whole technical, legal, commercial, etc implications of this.
HE DOES NOT. So, he's talking out of his ass.
How can he promise what he can't hope to deliver?
T
The USA is very fortunate to have good men of his caliber at the helm of position of great power.
Cook and Hillary are two people in power who's competence and honesty are called into question on regular basis.