Apple's battle with the FBI: who's supporting them – and who's not?
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Version 0 of 1. The debate between Apple and the US Department of Justice had made for very strange bedfellows. Democratic congressman Mike Honda of California has come down firmly on the side of the tech company, saying that the DoJ sought to increase its authority “with the tyrannical impulses that were the very reason our country was created”. By contrast, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California called on Apple to cooperate immediately following the “terrorist attack in my state” and threatened legislation, though she said she “hope[d] it would not be necessary”. Microsoft founder and world’s richest man Bill Gates seemed to think there ought to be a compromise available to both parties: “It is no different than [asking] ‘should anybody ever have been able to tell the phone company to get information? Should anybody be able to get at bank records?’” he told the Financial Times. But Microsoft’s general counsel, Brad Smith, was rather less ambivalent addressing the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday: “We at Microsoft support Apple and will be filing an amicus brief to support Apple’s position in the court case next week,” he said. Public opinion polls have been inconclusive. Research by Reuters found that Americans support Apple, while polling by Pew found that the public are on the side of the FBI, the complex topic and emotive language used on both sides often confusing respondents. In one of the most polarizing US election seasons in recent memory, the Democrats are ambivalent on the issue but the “law-and-order” wing of the conservative Republican party has leapt to the defence of the FBI, with presidential candidate Donald Trump promising to boycott Apple. Along with Gates, a few others said they could see the case from either perspective, notably Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Asked which side of the debate he was on during the Democratic town hall on 18 February, Sanders said: “Both.” Though he was “very fearful of ‘Big Brother’”, Sanders admitted “I also worry about the possibility of another terrorist attack against our country.” Clinton agreed. “This is a very hard dilemma,” she said. Supporting Apple Not supporting Apple On the fence |