Things are heating up with the ongoing case of "Apple vs. FBI" wherein the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for access to Syed Rizwan Farook, the infamous San Bernadino shooter's iPhone. Although it seems like the government has the right to ask such simple matter, Apple refuses to give them access to Farook's phone, stating that it is "too dangerous" to do so.
Numerous tech giant heads have voiced out their support with Apple's decision to not give FBI the access to the San Bernadino shooter, this heads include Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. But one person who spoke out against Apple's decision is none other than Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Gates sided with the FBI saying that the government bureau is not asking for a "general thing" but only for a specific case. "Nobody's talking about a back door. This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information," Gates said.
"They are not asking for some general thing, they are asking for a particular case," Gates added. "Apple has access to the information, they are just refusing to provide the access and the courts will tell them whether to provide the access or not. You shouldn't call the access some special thing."
Last week, the government ordered Apple CEO, Tim Cook to create a special iOS for Farook's iPhone, which will enable authorities to tap into the phone. However, in an open letter Cook defended their decision to not allow the FBI to do such a thing. According to Apple, what the government is asking the company to do is fundamentally violating the privacy and trust of their customers.
"The only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool isn't abused and doesn't fall into the wrong hands is to never create it," Apple said. The FBI has already assured Apple that they have no intention of creating a master key to set loose on the land.
The case is still building up as of today and the court will decide whether to grant Apples defense or not.
