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U.S. NEWS A5
Thursday 18 February 2016
Fight over gunman’s locked iPhone could have big impact
ERIC TUCKER man’s work-issued iPhone An iPhone is seen in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. A U.S. magistrate judge has ordered
TAMI ABDOLLAH 5C would be “too danger- Apple to help the FBI break into a work-issued iPhone used by one of the two gunmen in the mass
Associated Press ous to create” and “unde- shooting in San Bernardino, California, a significant legal victory for the Justice Department in an
WASHINGTON (AP) — An niably” a backdoor. ongoing policy battle between digital privacy and national security. Apple CEO Tim Cook im-
extraordinary legal fight is Cook compared it to a mediately objected, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal fight between Silicon Valley and the
brewing with major priva- master key, capable of federal government.
cy implications for millions opening hundreds of mil-
of cellphone users after a lions of locks, and said (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
federal magistrate ordered there was no way to keep
Apple Inc. to help the FBI the technique secret once said, “Court orders are not Dianne Feinstein of Cali- thought the government
hack into an iPhone used it was developed. optional and Apple should fornia, who fought encryp- should be able to access
by the gunman in the San “Once the information is comply.”Democratic Sen. tion in the 1990s, said she the phone. q
Bernardino mass shootings. known, or a way to bypass
The clash brings to a head the code is revealed, the
a long-simmering debate encryption can be defeat-
between technology com- ed by anyone with that
panies insistent on protect- knowledge,” Cook said.
ing digital privacy and law At the center of the de-
enforcement agencies bate is the private informa-
concerned about losing tion carried on nearly 900
their ability to recover evi- million iPhones sold world-
dence or eavesdrop on wide: Photographs, videos,
the communications of ter- chat messages, health re-
rorists or criminals. cords and more.
On Wednesday, the White There also was swift reac-
House quickly disputed tion on the presidential
the contention by Apple’s campaign trail, where
chief executive officer, Tim Donald Trump told Fox
Cook, that the Obama ad- News that he agreed “100
ministration is seeking to percent with the courts,”
force the software compa- and on Capitol Hill, where
ny to build a “backdoor” the chairman of the Sen-
to bypass digital locks pro- ate Intelligence Commit-
tecting consumer informa- tee, Richard Burr, R-N.C.,
tion on Apple’s popular
iPhones. SPLC notes uptick in hate, extremist groups in 2015
The early arguments set
the stage for what will like- PHILLIP LUCAS 892 last year, up from 784 has risen from 113 in 2014 to Montgomery, Alabama, in
ly be a protracted policy Associated Press in 2014. SPLC officials said 180 in 2015. “We think that 1971. The center says its mis-
and public relations fight in BIRMINGHAM, Alabama the number of anti-gov- the growth of these groups sion is to fight hate and big-
the courts, on Capitol Hill, (AP) — The number of ernment groups increased is due almost entirely to otry by monitoring extrem-
on the Internet and else- hate groups and anti-gov- from 874 in 2014 to 998 in the very dramatic atten- ist groups, launching public
where. ernment organizations in 2015.The nonprofit also tion that has been paid education campaigns that
“They are not asking Apple the United States jumped noted an uptick in anti- over the past year to po- promote tolerance, and
to redesign its product or sharply in 2015 as political Muslim behavior, which it lice violence against black representing clients in civil
to create a new backdoor speech became more di- linked to terrorist attacks in men,” said SPLC Senior Fel- rights cases in court.
to one of their products,” visive, violent encounters Paris and California, and low Mark Potok. The group The SPLC defines hate
White House spokesman between police and black talking points from Repub- simultaneously notes the groups as organizations
Josh Earnest said. “They’re men were increasingly lican presidential candi- number of active Ku Klux that attack people based
simply asking for something publicized, and attacks in dates. Some candidates Klan groups increased to on central characteristics
that would have an im- Paris and California spurred have suggested that Mus- 190 in 2015 after falling be- such as race, sexual ori-
pact on this one device.” widespread fears of terror- lim Syrian war refugees be tween 2013 and 2014. entation and religion. The
Within hours of the judge’s ism, a civil rights advocacy blocked from entering the In general, Potok said, he listings focus on ideology
order on Tuesday telling group said Wednesday. country to ensure that Mus- would describe 2015 “as a and not violence or crimi-
Apple to aid the FBI with In its annual Year In Hate lim extremists don’t get in. year that very nearly ap- nal acts. Some targets of
special software in the and Extremism report, the The group also noted that proaches the political up- the center say the SPLC’s
case, Cook promised a Southern Poverty Law Cen- the number of black sepa- heavals of 1968 — a time of main mission has become
court challenge. He said ter said the number of U.S. ratist groups, which it cat- real trial for this country.” to silence conservative
the software the FBI would hate groups increased to egorizes as hate groups, The SPLC was founded in viewpoints.q
need to unlock the gun-
