Omri Ben-Shahar on Apple vs the FBI

Apple vs FBI: Should Privacy Rights Outrank a Federal Investigation?

The case has now sparked a debate in the tech and security industries over how to balance personal privacy in criminal investigations. Many say that allowing the FBI to access information on the phone is a slippery slope, while others say it could lead to pivotal information in the San Bernardino case.

Omri Ben-Shahar is a law professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of “More Than You Wanted To Know: The Failure of Mandated Disclosure.”

“When I hear Apple and Tim Cook talk about its concern for consumers’ privacy and users’ privacy, I can’t shake the feeling that Apple is shedding crocodile tears – that it is parading itself and the entire tech industry, Google and others joining along, to protect consumers’ privacy,” Ben-Shahar said. “Tim Cook talks about Apple’s civic duty … at the same time, Apple is in the business of data mining and data sharing and building devices that allow data collection in the commercial context.”

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