Siri loves Ron Paul, and apparently Paul’s feelings toward Apple are mutual.
The former congressman and presidential candidate used his weekly column this week to take on the issue of Apple’s standoff with the FBI — arguing that creating a backdoor for the iPhone would absolutely be a “precedent-setting case,” and stating that, “The government spying on us has not prevented one terrorist attack.”
“The FBI tells us that its demand for a back door into the iPhone is all about fighting terrorism, and that it is essential to break in just this one time to find out more about the San Bernardino attack last December,” Paul writes. “But the truth is they had long sought a way to break Apple’s iPhone encryption and, like 9/11 and the PATRIOT Act, a mass murder provided just the pretext needed …
We should support Apple’s refusal to bow to the FBI’s dangerous demands, and we should join forces to defend of our precious liberties without compromise. If the people lead, the leaders will follow.”
As we’ve noted before, the current Apple standoff with the FBI has divided opinion. Yesterday, legendary investor Warren Buffett argued that Apple should help the FBI crack the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooting case because “privacy has its limits.”
“We live in a very, very, very dangerous world,” Buffett said. “If you were in the early days of September 2001 and you were receiving credible information that something was going to happen … I think that in that case security trumps privacy.”
Bill Gates has also sided with the FBI, as have all five GOP candidates, while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, Google, and whistleblower Edward Snowden (among others) have stated their support for Apple.
Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee today, when he’ll go toe-to-toe with FBI Director James Comey regarding whether or not the bureau should be allowed to force Apple to create a backdoor for iOS.
Source: Ron Paul Institute
