Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Freedom, Security, and the iPhone
Freedom, Security, and the iPhone
Oct 30, 2024 11:17 AM

Writing on September 22 in the Wall Street Journal, Devlin Barret and Danny Yadron reported,

Last week, Apple announced that its new operating system for phones would prevent law enforcement from retrieving data stored on a locked phone, such as photos, videos and contacts. A day later, Google reiterated that the next version of its Android mobile-operating system this fall would make it similarly difficult for police or Google to extract such data from suspects’ phones.

It’s not just a feature — it’s also a marketing pitch. “It’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data,” Apple’s website says.

This would not protect all data, however:

Apple acknowledged it could still hand such data over to law enforcement that users back up on pany’s iCloud servers. And police can access some iPhone data without Apple’s help, because phone firms keep call logs and Apple doesn’t control data from third-party apps.

The FBI has not taken this news well, in more ways than one. Amy Schatz reports for re/code,

New encryption technologies on smartphones will make it harder for law enforcement to solve crimes or stop terrorists, Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey said Thursday in a speech panies including Google and Apple to reverse course.

“The FBI has a sworn duty to keep every American safe from crime and terrorism, and technology has e the tool of choice for some very dangerous people,” Comey said Thursday during a speech at a Washington think tank. Federal and local law enforcement “aren’t always able to access the evidence we need to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism. We have the legal authority to intercept and munications and information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so.”

Comey didn’t just ask Apple and Google to reverse their decision to bake tougher encryption technologies into the iPhone and Android operating systems. He also saidit’s time to update existing lawsto allow for federal wiretapping over a broader set of newer Internet-based technologies.

panies are run by good people, responding to what they perceive is a market demand. But the place they are leading us is one we shouldn’t go to without careful thought and debate,” Comey said.

Comey had a lot to say against this (admittedly limited) encryption from Google and Apple. Schatz goes on to report,

“We are struggling to keep up with changing technology, and to maintain our ability to actually collect munications we are authorized to intercept,” Comey said. “And if the challenges of real-time interception threaten to leave us in the dark, encryption threatens to lead all of us to a very dark place.”

The move by Apple and Google to build tighter encryption standards into their devices stems from continued frustration about Washington’s inaction to address revelations about mass surveillance by the National Security Agency revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden.

Comey said that Americans are wrong to think that the “government is sweeping up all of munications” because “that’s not true.”

“Perhaps it’s time to suggest that the post-Snowden pendulum has swung too far in one direction — in a direction of fear and mistrust,” Comey said. “It is time to have open and honest debates about liberty and security.”

Some readers might balk at this last pairing of “liberty and security,” since action in the name of security so often seems, including in this case, e at the expense of individual liberty.

This is a concern I share, but in the interest of charity, and to prevent the “post-Snowden pendulum” from swinging too far in the other direction, it seems worthwhile to note the pairing of liberty and security or safety in some of our founding documents.

For example, the Constitution of Pennsylvania (1776):

That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, amongst which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

The preamble even states, “all government ought to be instituted and supported for the security and protection of munity as such.” The Constitution of Vermont (1777) uses exactly the same words in its preamble as well.

These are just two examples of the pairing of liberty and security in founding documents of the United States. So Comey’s concern may, in fact, be in line with the founders of our free societies. That said, even in the best light, isn’t he — for lack of a better expression — doing it wrong?

If his first concern is security, is it wise to publicly say that the FBI is “struggling to keep up with changing technology”? Honestly, whether someone agrees or disagrees that the new encryption methods are a serious threat to national security, isn’t the FBI director’s implication that they are now at the mercy of Google and Apple and may even before now have been failing at their job? Aren’t statements like that just as much, if not more so, a threat to national security?

The right way to do it is — whatever the reality — to pretend to be unphased by these recent announcements, as if whatever Apple and Google e up with couldn’t possibly be a match for the FBI. Brush the news aside like a pesky insect, unconcerned whether it may be carrying malaria. It’s as bad a gaffe as the president saying we don’t yet have a strategy to counter ISIS three months after the latter had conquered half of Syria and Iraq. It shouldn’t be so hard for a government official to lie! If ever there was a right time to do it, these are those times. We even have such a thing as classified information because in certain rare cases, for the sake of national security, it is better not to be “open and honest.”

This reminds me of the recent interview in Religion & Liberty with Uwe Siemon-Netto, a veteran Vietnam journalist and Lutheran theologian, who said,

In Vietnam, the U.S. has shown that when it gets tired or bored with a conflict, it will get out, using any oblique means to do so. Look at Afghanistan: The U.S. and NATO are behaving like a house owner leaving a note on his front door saying, “We are on vacation and won’t be back until Oct. 10. The code for our alarm system is 021133, and we are taking the dog with us.” This is demented. No thought is given to what will happen to Afghan women after our soldiers are gone.

With regards to the security necessary for “enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety,” our leaders seem to have blinders on regarding the unintended consequences of their statements and actions. Sometimes prudence requires knowing not only what to say, but when not to speak at all.

Lastly, while Comey may wish to sweep away such concerns for privacy as a mere “market demand,” that just obscures the fact that market demand is really another way of saying popular will. It is simply the economic dimension of it. The will of the people in this instance is for the FBI and others to protect their security without having access to look through every selfie on their iPhones.

That shouldn’t be too tall of a task for the FBI, should it?

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Corruption, Repentance, and Restoration in a Time of Scandal
The Emperor Theodosius does public penance for his own scandal before the bishop St. Ambrose. Ray Pennings recently wrote a thoughtful reflection at The Cardus Daily on the recent surge in (exposed) political scandals, Canadian and American. He bemoans that “the current version of democracy isn’t looking all that attractive right now,” writing, It is discouraging to read stories regarding blatant ethical questions involving the President of the United States, Prime Minister of Canada, the Canadian Leader of the Opposition...
7 great books for Memorial Day
While enjoying time off this weekend, why not take some time to learn more about America’s military sacrifice in defense of liberty? Many of the best books I’ve ever read have been about American military history. When I worked for former Congressman Gene Taylor in Gulfport, Miss. one of my favorite parts of my job while working constituent services for veterans was listening to stories about battles from places like Okinawa, Khe Sanh, and Hue City. I’ve read all of...
Tim Keller: 5 Ways the Bible Shapes Our Work
At The Gospel Coalition’s 2013 National Conference, Tim Keller kicked off a Faith at Work post-conference by exploring what itmeans to be a Christian in the marketplace. Keller argues that we have to view our work through the larger Biblical story ofCreation > Fall > Redemption > Restoration. IfGod is the creator of all things, and if through Christall things are made new, that process of restoration must include our work. Keller proceeds to offer five ways that the theology...
IRS Audited 69% of Filers Who Claimed Adoption Tax Credit
Adopting a child can be a laborious, time-consuming, and expensive process. So why is the IRS trying to make it even more laborious, time-consuming, and expensive? As David French notes, in 2012, the IRS requested additional information from 90 percent of returns claiming the adoption tax credit and went on to actually audit 69 percent: So Congress implemented a tax credit to facilitate adoption – a process that is so extraordinarily expensive that it is out of reach for many...
The Failing Success of Population Control in the Developing World
published a press release from the Guttmacher Institute, the research division of Planned Parenthood, summarizing a new study that “the poorest countries are lagging far behind e developing countries in meeting the demand for modern contraception. Between 2003 and 2012, the total number of women wanting to avoid pregnancy and in need of contraception increased from 716 million to 867 million, with growth concentrated among women in the 69 poorest countries where modern method use was already very low.”...
Nostalgia for Mid-Twentieth Century Middle Class Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
Don Boudreaux and Mark J. Perry at Cafe Hayek are here to tell you: life in the 1950s for America’s middle class is not the wonderland we might like to think. A favorite “progressive” trope is that America’s middle class has stagnated economically since the 1970s. One version of this claim, made by Robert Reich, President Clinton’s labor secretary, is typical: “After three decades of flat wages during which almost all the gains of growth have gone to the very...
Entrepreneurs Find People With Autism Employable
People with autism frequently have a difficult time socially: they don’t always pick up on social “cues” most of us take for granted such as vocal inflections, facial expressions, gestures and maintaining eye contact. In terms of finding suitable jobs, this can be an obstacle. However, there are entrepreneurs who actively seek out the autistic as employees. Thorkil Sonne of Denmark is the founder of a software pany, Specialisterne. pany uses their special skills to out-perform the market and offer...
Study: Entrepreneurs Pray More Frequently Than Non-Entrepreneurs
About a decade ago I joined a couple of other semi-clueless entrepreneurs in starting a regional newspaper in East Texas. Although I had always been a praying man, I found a lot more to pray about while starting a business: praying we’d make payroll, praying we’d find advertisers, praying the newspaper industry wouldn’t collapse before our next edition, etc. Apparently, I wasn’t alone. According to information recently published by the Association of Religion Data Services, U.S. entrepreneurs pray more, meditate...
America: Current Threats To Your Religious Liberty
As part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) “Fortnight For Freedom” campaign, the USCCB has enumerated a number of threats to Americans’ religious liberty. Besides the on-going battle with the Obama Administration regarding the HHS mandate and the gutting of funding to Catholic programs that fight human trafficking, the bishops want us to be aware of these perils to religious liberty: Catholic foster care and adoption services. Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the State...
Desperate Entrepreneur Atop St. Peter’s Pleads to Pope
What a sweet spectacle it is to observe Rome’s pastel-colored cityscape and glowing white marble churches from above St. Peter’s Basilica just before sunset.But this is not what one Italian entrepreneur had in mind late Monday evening and years since experiencing any kind of dolce vita in his native land. According to local press reports, around 6:00 pm on May 20, Vatican police and tourists discovered a businessman from Trieste, Marcello Finizio, atop the massive dome of St. Peter’s, the...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved