Tech Companies Push Back on FBI
In the not too distant past, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik went on a killing spree in San Bernadino in what is characterized as a domestic terror event fueled by radicalization. The FBI believes the couple was in contact with handlers long before the shooting took place but have been stymied by the encryption on an Apple iPhone. Although otherwise cooperating on a technical basis with the FBI, a judge ordered Apple to assist the investigation by breaking into the phone. To this, Apple CEO Tim Cook published an open letter defying the order to effectively backdoor their products, even for government one off cases, as a slippery slope towards broader abuse. Shortly after, Google has joined Apple in a combined front against the government's ability to break into their product security.