Technology companies are currently facing an intense amount of scrutiny and debate concerning one of the most difficult balancing acts of the modern, digital age. Should companies value individual customer privacy, or should they instead cede to the demands of government agencies for less security in the name of saving lives and national security? While I think there exists a middle ground for both goals to be respected and achieved without denying the other entirely, if forced to choose between the two extremes, the answer is clear. Companies like Apple should not lessen the security of their products and build one key fits all government backdoors. As Apple’s CEO Tim Cook put it, they should not “undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”
Like most ethical debates, I do think there exists a great deal of grey area in the case of government technology backdoors. And I do believe that a company like Apple should endeavor to help a government agency like the FBI in the proper scenarios under the right circumstances. In fact, Apple has been making every ethical effort in its power to assist the FBI in its investigation over the past several months. But this new demand by the FBI falls well outside the bounds of an ethical request.
Make no mistake, the San Bernadino terrorist attack was a tragedy, and the perpetrators and all involved should be brought to justice. But the U.S. government should not act unethically itself in its efforts to do so, and it shouldn’t force U.S. companies like Apple to act unethically on the its behalf. The FBI’s intentions may be good, as noted by Tim Cook in his customer address, but in its efforts to protect national security, the FBI is actually putting millions of innocent Americans at risk. Despite any promises that an Apple produced iPhone backdoor would only be used in this case and other special circumstances, “there is no way to guarantee such control.” If Apple either willingly submits to this request or is forced to under court order, there is no going back – no closing of Pandora’s proverbial box once it has been opened. The ability to hack an iPhone and recover all of its data will exist for misuse by anyone capable of accessing the backdoor – whether that be identity thieves, computer hackers, or even corrupt government officials. By trying to recover the information of a few terrible individuals, we would actually be putting everyone at risk. It is this very risk posed to all that discredits the argument some may make that if you have nothing to hide then you shouldn’t be worried about lower security measures and less privacy. In a world where iPhones and other digital devices are increasingly becoming the central hubs of our lives, we may not have anything to hide from the FBI, but we have everything to hide – back accounts, personal identification information, etc. – from criminals, hackers, and other ill-doers who would use digital backdoors for nefarious purposes.
Besides the unethical nature of the inherent risk posed to millions of Americans by the FBI’s backdoor demand, there also exists the unethical implications the demand has specifically on Apple and its employees – namely its software engineers. The article The Conscription of Apple’s Software Engineers summarizes this point perfectly. The point is right there in the title. If forced to bow to the FBI in court, Apple and its engineers are essentially becoming forced employees of the government, doing the government’s hacking and investigative work for it. What then if every software engineer at Apple refuses to write the unethical backdoor code? What if every engineer at Apple resigns under ethical grounds? Would the government punish disobeyers in court? While this sort of hypothetical takes the situation to the extreme, it showcases the absurdity of the FBI’s request. The government does not “have a claim on the brainpower and creativity of citizens and corporations.” If it does, under the auspices of an exploitative reading of an Act passed in 1789, then I fear for the future of a free United States of America.
ethicsryanmoran 