Privacy vs. Security & Apple

        Privacy vs. security is a political debate that will probably never be resolved as long as the United States remains a democratic republic, and that is good.   

        Theoretically, I would have no problem with a responsible Federal Government invading my privacy if I am not doing anything wrong and that information was kept confidential, but that is a totally naive idea because the government is made up of people, and people are not always honest.  As the saying does; “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

        History shows that some people in government will use this information for political, personal, dishonest, and illegal purposes.  Recent events with the Internal Revenue Service and the National Security Agency have shown that people in government cannot be trusted with all this information. 

        The solution is quit simple.  The Constitution and the Bill of Rights clearly spell out how to deal with this controversy.  The Founding Fathers were very aware of personal privacy rights and the obligation of the Federal Government to provide security for the country.  We just need a common sense interpretation of the Constitution and not try to rewrite it for political purposes.

        In the private sector of our great country the question of security vs. privacy can be handled much easier with a little common sense.  After the San Bernardino terrorist attack, one of dead terrorist’s cell phone was recovered.    There was a very real possibility that this phone could contain information critical to protect us from future terrorist attacks. 

        One of the clear responsibilities of our federal government is to protect us from terrorist attacks.  The government needed this information, but Apple refused.  The government clearly worked within the Constitution and obtained the necessary search warrants.  Apple still refused. 

        Apple’s decision to not work with the government was based on projecting an image of absolute security for their users.  This was a stupid lose-lose decision.  By refusing to work with the government, Apple alienated customers concerned about a terrorist threat. 

        Apple forced the government to crack their security by other means proving the security was not as good as Apple claimed.  This alienated customers concerned about security. 

        Apple’s decision cost them with both customer groups.  It’s no wonder their stock is down.  If Apple would have quietly coopered with government they could have maintained the perception of absolute security for their customers and shown that they had an important role in fighting terror.  Sometimes I am amazed how top management of major corporations can be so short-sighted.  Unfortunately, this problem is not confined to the private sector.  Federal Government bureaucrats are even worse.

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