Maricopa County Attorney bans employees from getting new iPhones, says Apple is 'on the side of ter
As a result of Apple's refusal to help the FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone, the Maricopa County, Ariz. Attorney's Office has announced that it will not allow workers to choose Apple's handsets as upgrades or replacements.
"Apple's refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety," said County Attorney Bill Montgomery in a prepared statement. "Positioning their refusal to cooperate as having anything to do with privacy interests is a corporate PR stunt and ignores the 4th Amendment protections afforded by our Constitution."
Montgomery added that prosecutors have regularly secured warrants to unlock encrypted smartphones, "including iPhones sold prior to the release of the iPhone 7." It's not immediately clear why the office chose to refer to an as yet-unannounced handset.
Evidence obtained this way has allegedly proven "critical" in cases involving murder, drug trafficking, and other crimes. He suggested that Apple is concerned about "the potential for unauthorized access to an encryption key," and that if so, the problem should be dealt with in that context.
In a TV interview aired Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that in the future, the company could theoretically be compelled to create tools for surveillance if orders under the All Writs Act stand.
The Maricopa County iPhone ban may have relatively little impact, since the Attorney's Office says that it has 564 smartphones in all, of which 366 are iPhones. Montgomery concluded by saying that he can't do business with a company that interferes with an investigation into a terrorist attack.
"If Apple wants to be the official smartphone of terrorists and criminals, there will be a consequence," he said.
"Apple's refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety," said County Attorney Bill Montgomery in a prepared statement. "Positioning their refusal to cooperate as having anything to do with privacy interests is a corporate PR stunt and ignores the 4th Amendment protections afforded by our Constitution."
Montgomery added that prosecutors have regularly secured warrants to unlock encrypted smartphones, "including iPhones sold prior to the release of the iPhone 7." It's not immediately clear why the office chose to refer to an as yet-unannounced handset.
Evidence obtained this way has allegedly proven "critical" in cases involving murder, drug trafficking, and other crimes. He suggested that Apple is concerned about "the potential for unauthorized access to an encryption key," and that if so, the problem should be dealt with in that context.
In a TV interview aired Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued that in the future, the company could theoretically be compelled to create tools for surveillance if orders under the All Writs Act stand.
The Maricopa County iPhone ban may have relatively little impact, since the Attorney's Office says that it has 564 smartphones in all, of which 366 are iPhones. Montgomery concluded by saying that he can't do business with a company that interferes with an investigation into a terrorist attack.
"If Apple wants to be the official smartphone of terrorists and criminals, there will be a consequence," he said.
Comments
Like a jilted lover out for revenge.
It is not wholly unexpected, of course. One hopes that Apple took such inevitable blowback heavily into consideration when deciding its course of action. That said, there is a reason why many in Southern Arizona call the county seat "Maricopastan," as it is, indeed, a bastion of reactionary politicians, many of them eternal priests of the Mormon church. Undoubtedly, those 366 iPhones will be immediately replaced using money from the dwindling pot of education dollars the state of Arizona loves to pilfer.
Apple is doing the right thing in saying NO, and then hopefully having this hashed out in the courts and laws changed. The changed law may not favor Apple, but at least it will be clear.
In fact, this "gentleman" and all politicians and government employees should be outfitted with 24/7 body cameras and microphones so any time they violate our millions of laws and regulations the evidence will be right there. It would save billions in needless investigations, end harassment and corruption and expose to Americans the real threats in this country.
Plus, I'd like to see the collection of private data on Americans by government illegal, purely for our protection.
That's a fantastic idea: as government employees, you are not allowed to use the most secure devices available.
What the hell is wrong with these people? Anyone who says or thinks Apple is siding with terrorists are ignorant simpletons who don't deserve to use an iPhone anyway. They clearly do no understand or cannot comprehend the actual implications of the issue at hand. Furthermore, they are too stupid to realize that if you're handing out devices to your employees to use for work, you can (and usually do) install additional software to manage those devices.
Although this could be a smart move, he might be worried that his department would also hire Muslim terrorists just as San Bernardino County did. By not giving his staff iPhones, they would be able to get into their phones if such a thing would happen. /s