Bill Gates Chimes in on Unlocking IPhone Debate

Bill Gates, the former Microsoft boss, says that cracking the iPhone of the San Bernardino murderer would not set a precedent for “back doors.”

Gates is calling for a public debate of the issues and has said: "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. Apple has access to the information, they are just refusing access.”

He said: “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.'"

A number of Silicon Valley firms including Facebook, Twitter and Google have rallied behind Apple since its CEO Tim Cook sent an all-staff email on Monday morning in which he argued that the case represents a "precedent that threatens everyone's civil liberties.”

FBI director James Comey has stated that: “We don’t want to break anyone’s encryption or set a master key loose on the land. I hope thoughtful people will take the time to understand that. Maybe the phone holds the clue to finding more terrorists.”

However, this may be a moot point in that a judge in New York has ruled that Apple does not have to abide by the FBI demands.

Source: The Register