The dispute between Apple Inc. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has, once again, brought to public attention the tension between privacy and national security. After the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, the FBI ordered Apple to provide anti-encryption software to access the information locked inside an iPhone 5c belonging to one of the shooters. In February of 2016, Apple publicly refused to comply with the Federal order, citing the protection of customers’ data from “hackers and criminals” and noting that they even “put that data out of our own reach” because it is “none of our business.” It is unclear precisely what information the FBI might be interested in on the shooter’s phone, but the encrypted information included emails, calendar data, text messages, photos, and contacts.
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Case from the 2016 Regional Ethics Bowls
Copyright, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2016
