In the Apple v. FBI clash, the public is still on the sidelines
Apple's stand against the FBI has sparked a raucous debate on social media and in tech policy circles, but reactions from the broader public don't听appear, at least for now,听firmly on one side or the other.
That was evident Tuesday night as digital rights and civil liberties groups organized nationwide protests to support Apple's resistance against an FBI request to help access听an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters.听
In Boston, some听30 people crowded in front of an Apple Store. They held banners and signs that read, 鈥淒on鈥檛 break our phones.鈥� The largest protest appeared to be in San Francisco, where some 50 Apple supporters rallied, but in New York City only about eight people turned out for the pro-Apple rally,
At the rally in Boston, few passersby gave the protesters more than a second look. And several people who this reporter spoke with about the demonstrators either hadn't followed the debate between the FBI closely or didn't have any opinion on the issue.听
According to a recent Pew Research Center study, public opinion narrowly sides with the FBI.听听found that 51 percent supported Apple 鈥渦nlocking鈥� the shooter鈥檚 phone, 38 percent said Apple should not help the FBI, and 11 percent were unsure.
The controversy erupted after Apple said it would contest a听California judge's order that it help the FBI听disable several security measures so the agency could access a phone used by听Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters in the December terrorist attack that killed 14 people.
While the FBI argues this is in the interest of national security, Apple and many privacy advocates argue that such assistance sets a dangerous precedent, one that could be used to compel the same kind of access to other iPhones or software from other companies.
Tuesday's rallies were among the听first attempts听to garner support from the broader public for unbreakable encryption on consumer devices. A day later,听Apple CEO Tim Cook since the Apple iPhone controversy erupted, broadening the digital privacy versus national security conversation to an audience beyond the tech set.
"If a court can ask us to write this piece of software, think about what else they could ask us to write. Maybe it's an operating system for surveillance, maybe the ability for the law enforcement to turn on the camera," "World News Tonight." "I don't know where this stops. But I do know that this is not what should be happening in this country."
Among the demonstrators who gathered Tuesday at the Apple Store on Boylston Street were several who worked in the tech industry.
"While I don鈥檛 agree with a lot of the things Apple has done over the years, the stance [Tim Cook is] taking right now is really brave,鈥� said听Molly de Blanc of Boston听who has worked in open source software for several years. "It鈥檚 really powerful that he鈥檚 looking at what their responsibilities are to Apple customers."
The digital rights nonprofit听Fight for the Future, which has become a leading voice in support of Apple's stance and other pro-privacy issues, organized rallies in more than 40 cities Tuesday.听
Chris Gladney, a Web developer who attended the rally, said the issue for him comes down to protecting consumers' privacy.听"I鈥檓 probably more excited to have an iPhone at this point now knowing how hard Apple is fighting to protect consumer privacy."
Mr. Gladney said he wasn't surprised by the close听results of the听Pew Survey because of the technical nature of the controversy.听
Still, Apple supporter听Sheila Park, a former college professor, was alarmed. "It鈥檚 scary to me that 51 percent of people who live in America think it鈥檚 ok that our government wants to spy on us,鈥� she said. 鈥淎re you kidding?鈥�
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