China Watches Closely the Legal Battle Between FBI and Apple

By Shahzad Masood Roomi

The legal battle between FBI and Apple Inc. has raised new questions about the aftermath of this case on global scale. These questions are going to affect the way technology giant will provide its services to millions of customers around the world. Fundamental question Shadowing the standoff between the FBI and Apple over access to an encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers is: What China or European nations will do if Apple accept the Washington's demand? 

If Apple accepts Washington's demand and creates unique software that allows Washington access to the phone, does that open the door for Beijing to make similar demands on the company and all other foreign technology firms operating in China? This leads to a more intriguing question that how millions of Apple customer will be able to demand a secure phone to protect their privacy? Will they trust Apple after this? 

This certainly is not an easy place for Apple Inc. after it was found by FBI, last year, that one of the San Bernardino attackers was using encrypted iPhone. Company has a very delicate and far reaching decision to make and is fighting for the right of its customer against the most powerful bureaucracy in the world.

In context of US-China relations, actually this legal battle between FBI and Apple has put the US authorities in an awkward position due to the fact that it is not very long ago when the US media and government criticized the Chinese policy of asking the communication companies to provide back doors to Chinese authorities as a mean to access the mobile devices based on suspicions of terrorism or related crimes. At that time, China had defended their policy sighting similar approaches by the US and UK which american media dismissed as rhetoric but the current predicament of the United States justifies the same and surely, these are amusing times for Chinese leadership.  Clearly the case has larger political and international ramifications. 

This case is going to change the way we communicate if Apple lose it in the court. Governments all over the world will use this precedent as a supporting argument for going after encrypted communication technologies. This move can also be described as an attempt by the nation states of re-tool and rearm themselves in combating the threats posed by modern day technologies and vast cyber space.

For those who have no clue what is the FBI vs. Apple this video by democracy Now will give you the background and recent updates.

 

This is why NSA former analyst, Edward Snowden has termed the case as "the most important tech case in a decade".