Free Republic

The battle between the FBI and Apple ended on Monday with “no clear winner,” according to The New York Times. Not so. The clear winner is the American people, and the clear loser is Apple.The FBI had requested Apple’s help in unlocking a cell phone used by the San Bernardino killers--Apple refused. The Justice Department took the dispute to court, arguing that a search warrant required Apple to program a “backdoor” into Syed Farook’s password- protected iPhone5. A judge initially decided in favor of the government, but Apple appealed the ruling; the case was expected to end up at the...

FBI Director James B. Comey sharply criticized Apple and Google on Thursday for developing forms of smartphone encryption so secure that law enforcement officials cannot easily gain access to information stored on the devices — even when they have valid search warrants. His comments were the most forceful yet from a top government official but echo a chorus of denunciation from law enforcement officials nationwide. Police have said that the ability to search photos, messages and Web histories on smartphones is essential to solving a range of serious crimes, from murder to child pornography to attempted terrorist attacks. “There will...