Over in the US, Apple is fighting the courts after being ordered to unlock the iPhone belonging to a terrorist. However Apple could potentially get away with this, thanks to a recent ruling in New York in a different case, in which Apple was cleared by a judge who said that Apple did not have to unlock the iPhone.However this is in the US, but no doubt the rest of the world is watching this debate unfold and over in France, it seems that there are some ideas on how they could force Apple to comply in the future. A report from The Local (via BGR) has revealed that French Socialist MP Yann Galut has proposed an amendment to the law that could see Apple punished for refusing to cooperate by fining them €1 million each time they do not comply.
Speaking to Le Parisien, Galut was quoted as saying, “We are faced with a legal vacuum when it comes to data encryption, and it’s blocking judicial investigations. Only money will force these extremely powerful companies like Apple and Google to comply. They are hiding behind a supposed privacy protection, but they’re quick to make commercial use of personal data that they’re collecting.”
Of course it remains to be seen if this proposed change to the law will be approved, but without doubt, how the case is resolved in the US will impact how other countries and governments might approach the issue.
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