The Danger if the Apple-FBI Battle Ends Up Before Congress

Before members of the House Judiciary Committee, Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell questioned Tuesday whether the FBI should have the right to force tech companies to create special software to help the government get into encrypted smartphones and other devices.

But the he added in his opening remarks:

Most importantly, the decisions should be made by you and your colleagues [Congress] as representatives of the people, rather than through a warrant request based on a 220 year- old-statute.

In the clip below, Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams correctly discuss the dangers of Congress getting involved in the cracking of encryption question. However, they see Apple as being naive in its call for Congress to get involved. I am much more suspicious and believe this tug-of-war between the FBI and Apple, which involves a real terrorist killer, may be a Trojan horse. It is the perfect case to bring before Congress by which members can justify requiring companies to crack encryption ("to protect us against terrorists")---and thus providing a powerful new tool by which the government can monitor our activities.

 

 -RW