Bill Gates Backs FBI In Their Case Against Apple

In the debate as to whether or not Apple should comply with the court’s demands and offer backdoor access to the iPhone, several renowned tech companies have come forward to show their support for Apple. For example Google has said that they support Apple’s stance, along with other companies such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

However if there is at least one big name in tech that does not support Apple, it is the co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates. In an interview with the Financial Times (paywall; via Re/code), Gates made statements that indicated that he was backing the FBI in their efforts against what Apple was trying to do. He also suggested that the FBI was only asking about a particular case, and not asking for backdoor access in general.

He was quoted as saying, “It is no different than [the question of] should anybody ever have been able to tell the phone company to get information, should anybody be able to get at bank records. Let’s say the bank had tied a ribbon round the disk drive and said ‘don’t make me cut this ribbon, because you’ll make me cut it many times.’”

Note that Gate’s comments aren’t reflective of that of Microsoft, despite him being the company’s co-founder. Gates has more or less stepped aside from Microsoft many years ago, so his comments are his own. That being said, a recent report from The Wall Street Journal has suggested that this isn’t a one-off case, and that there are apparently a dozen iPhones that the DOJ might want Apple to unlock in the future.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iPhone, Legal, Privacy, Security