Keller @ Large: Poor Showing By FBI And Apple
BOSTON (CBS) - Am I the only one who feels manipulated by both sides in the dispute between Apple and the government over access to the iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino mass murderers?
You'll recall that last month, the Justice Department went to court to force Apple to help it unlock the phone, on the chance the information there might help expose co-conspirators.
Apple said this was an unconscionable breach of privacy rights.
The government claimed there was no other way for them to get the info, but that wasn't true. They announced Monday they did find another way, and never mind about their litigation.
Apple claimed that the security of that phone was their solemn obligation; that turns out to be a false promise.
I've got a news bulletin for both parties – your credibility is shot, and you've got your work cut out for you to restore it.
As I said when this all started last month, Apple has no business getting on any sort of high horse. They market themselves and their products as somehow enlightened, when nothing could be farther from the truth. All their talk of privacy struck me as just more marketing hype; now we know it was bogus.
And what are we to make of a government willing to strong-arm citizens to get information they had the means to obtain all along, if they'd only been a bit more competent?
This was a very poor showing by both sides, and it speaks to a time-tested truth we too often forget – in God we trust, all others, not so much.
Listen to Jon's commentary: