You might have that a couple of months ago, Apple stated in court that they would not be able to unlock a suspect’s smartphone. This is largely due to Apple’s new policies in which the keys to a customer’s smartphone is in the hands of the customer, not Apple, so even if they wanted to, they couldn’t.Safe to say that did not sit well with authorities but for the most part, many tech companies seem to feel that way with regards to the privacy of its users. However if there is one tech company that has taken exception, it would be BlackBerry. While they did not denounce Apple for their decision, BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen recently penned a blog post in which he thinks that tech companies should cooperate with the government on issues like this.
According to Chen, “We reject the notion that tech companies should refuse reasonable, lawful access requests. Just as individual citizens bear responsibility to help thwart crime when they can safely do so, so do corporations have a responsibility to do what they can, within legal and ethical boundaries, to help law enforcement in its mission to protect us.”
However at the same time, BlackBerry notes that governments should not overstep and he concludes by saying, “Technology, over the course of human existence, can be both used and abused. We all have a right to privacy as well as public protection. We must balance these, and the world’s tech leaders must help consumers and governments alike make informed decisions.” What do you guys think?
Should tech companies like Apple once in a while give in to government requests, or do you think by doing so it sets a precedent which could snowball towards undesirable consequences?