British comedian John Oliver has weighed in on the debate between Apple and the FBI, and he has absolutely nailed why the tech giant should stand up to the feds.
Law enforcement is currently pushing for Apple to create some form of ‘master key’ that would allow them to bypass security passcodes and access encrypted data on the iPhones of people of interest.
Specifically, the FBI want access to an Apple iPhone 5C that was used by one of the terrorists involved in last year’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
But Apple is quite rightly wary of setting such a precedent and opening Pandora’s box when it comes to civil liberties.
In the clip from the latest edition of Last Week Tonight, Oliver not only explains why Apple is in the right, but he generously creates a new honest advert for the firm too.
Check it out:
Strong encryption poses problems for law enforcement, is weakening it worth the risks it presents? It’s…complicated.
Posted by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Sunday, March 13, 2016
As Oliver quips:
The government is essentially demanding that [Apple] come up with a cheat code for their top-selling iPhone game, ‘Fuck, What’s My Passcode?!,’ rated ‘E for everyone’.
Spot on.
As pointed out by the Huffington Post, the whole case carries an uncanny resemblance to the UK government’s flawed justification for the ‘Snooper’s Charter’.
