Note: This is a follow-up post on the on-going tussle between FBI and Apple. If you haven’t been following the news, we suggest you read our previous post on this issue first — Everything You Need to Know About the Apple-FBI Fight.
Support from other big techs
A lot of industry leaders have started to rally behind Apple, showing their support for the latter’s stand against the government, including bigwigs like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft. All of them are reportedly planning to file legal briefs in court to support Apple.
The only one in the Top Five that had been very quiet on this whole issue was Amazon. However, according to sources at Buzzfeed, that’s going to change too. Amazon is apparently hurrying to show their support as well.
A Matter of Mighty Import
Support was slow to come at the start, mostly because all the big companies have their respective deals with the government on various aspects of their business. It was only natural that they would be reluctant to go horn-to-horn with the State unless the matter was utterly important.
But that’s exactly how the issue has turned out to be — a high profile civil rights issue. The joint statements to the courts by the big five is a testament to the seriousness of the case. The tech giants have made it clear: that they now stand together to defend the principle of privacy.
The way ahead
The issue is far from resolved. There’ll be lengthy legal battles and high octane courtroom dramas (hopefully). But whatever the courts decide, it will have an impact on many such cases to come because this particular incident will establish a legal precedence that will set the tone of all future battles on the issue of privacy.
On one side is the world’s most powerful nation, with the full force of its Judiciary. On the other are the world’s five biggest companies, who touch more lives than the United States can even begin to imagine.
It is too early to tell who will win this battle, or when we’ll get a definitive result. So we are prepared to wait. And obviously, you know who we’ll be rooting for!!
