Ever since it was revealed that Apple was ordered by the courts to unlock an iPhone by creating software that provided law enforcement authorities backdoor access, many have come forward in support for Apple’s stance and refusal on the matter. For example protestors against the court’s ruling stood in front of Apple’s store in an act of solidarity.Even Google who is Apple’s rival also offered words of support, and now it looks like Facebook-owned messenger app WhatsApp has also come forward with their own support. The company’s CEO Jan Koum recently posted on Facebook that he felt what Tim Cook did in his public letter was admirable, and that he wholeheartedly agrees with him.
In Koum’s post he writes, “I have always admired Tim Cook for his stance on privacy and Apple’s efforts to protect user data and couldn’t agree more with everything said in their Customer Letter today. We must not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake.”
For those who are unaware of the implications, by agreeing to create a backdoor, it basically means that law enforcement authorities can at anytime access the contents of your phone. Obviously this is done in the name of catching criminals and stopping terrorist acts, but at the same time having a backdoor also means leaving it potentially open to hackers and bad guys who might figure it out themselves.
This isn’t so much Apple refusing to cooperate with the law, but rather the troubling precedent that they would be setting should they agree with their demands.
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