14 DAY TRIAL // Most technology companies are defending Apple in the fight against the FBI over an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers, but as far as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is concerned, the Cupertino-based firm is not doing the right thing.
In a statement today, Bill Gates has explained that this case is an exception, and Apple should actually assist the FBI in its attempt to break into the iPhone that might contain critical information for the investigation.
“This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information. They are not asking for some general thing, they are asking for a particular case,” Bill Gates is quoted as saying by FT.
“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.’”
Apple: This could be a dangerous precedent
In a new statement offered yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that hacking just this iPhone doesn’t mean that the same custom software used to break into it wouldn’t actually pose a threat to all users.
There’s no guarantee that such software would be used by the FBI only on the San Bernardino iPhone, Tim Cook said, adding that both the “good and bad guys” might actually get their hands on this solution and use it on a bigger number of iPhones in the United States.
Cook called for the government to withdraw its demands and instead allow the foundation of a commission that would continue discussions on the matter in order to find a different solution to solve this case. The government, however, doesn’t seem to back down and continues the legal procedure to force Apple to help them break into the iPhone.