Apple’s Lawyer: If We Lose, It Will Lead To A ‘Police State’

[Purveyor]

By David Goldman and Laurie Segall

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) — Apple’s attorney painted a scary picture if Apple loses its fight with the FBI.

In an interview with CNNMoney’s Laurie Segall on Friday, Ted Olson warned of a government with “limitless” powers that could “listen to your conversations.”

Olson said the demands would mount.

“You can imagine every different law enforcement official telling Apple we want a new product to get into something,” Olson said. “Even a state judge could order Apple to build something. There’s no stopping point. That would lead to a police state.”

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“It’s very easy to say ‘terrorism is involved’ and therefore you should do whatever the government wants to do,” he said. “But just because you’re using the word ‘terrorism,’ you don’t want to violate the civil liberties that all of us cherish.”

Though he declined to say how far Apple plans to go in its court battle — “we are a long, long way from that” — he said that this is the kind of precedent-setting case that could go to the Supreme Court.

more...

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/02/26/apple-police-state/

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Psst, guys... we already have a police state.

It's just good at propaganda.

[tk2kewl]

8. don't worry hillary will sure to turn it around

[awoke_in_2003]

10. Yep

On 9/11 they won. We are a blend of Orwell and Huxley. Part big, powerful government, and a healthy part of citizens allowing it because they are too entertained.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Why do they need access to my phone - I've done nothing wrong

[frazzled]

4. They don't want your phone

They only want to be able to access evidence from suspected criminals. They would need to present evidence to a court specifically relating to suspected crimes you have committed in order to get a warrant. And then Apple, not the government, would unlock your phone. And then they'd still have to figure out your password. If your child had been abducted by a kidnapper, who was killed in a crash coming to pick up the ransom money, and you thought the key to the location of your child was on that phone, you'd be yelling for Apple to unlock the damned kidnapper's phone.

C'mon, people. This is NOT about mass surveillance. This is about having the same crime-solving abilities the government has always had to confiscate computers, compel banks to turn over account information of suspected criminals under court-issued warrant, to wiretap those old rotary-dial telephones, etc. etc.

Y'all are starting to sound like the NRA and its minions--if we let them have one inch they'll come and take away all our guns! Apple (like the NRA) is in this for the money, not for any altruistic reasons. Stop buying the paranoia.

[FreakinDJ]

6. But their plan is to gain access to my phone - It is MASS Surveillance

[frazzled]

7. No, you're confused.

Nothing being requested of Apple has anything to do with your phone or mine. Unless you're a suspected criminal whose phone has been physically confiscated by law enforcement, and the government successfully presents evidence to a court of law that there is probable cause to think your phone has evidence of a crime on it, and receives a warrant for your phone only. And then Apple is compelled to unlock that single phone. The phone is still password-protected, but the government can then play with more than 10 tries to get into it.

Mass means millions of people at once. This is a case-by-case situation, with due process followed at every point. Are you for tying the hands of law enforcement to solve and prosecute crimes? It's nuts, imo.

[CanonRay]

3. Call me cynical, but

I think what Apple really wants is a cost plus guaranteed government contract to build what the government wants. Throw a billion at 'em and watch the resistance melt away.

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. Slippery Slope Much? nt

[Igel]

9. I prefer to think of it as gravity-assisted skating.

Like a black diamond ski slope, but without the trees, moguls, and covered with a thick sheet of ice.

Truly, a joy ride. As long as you don't fall. Or reach the bottom.

[Agnosticsherbet]

11. I prefer logical fallacy... That is the accurate description.