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The Apple saga rumbles on and on and Tim Cook and the FBI have both shown that they do not hold any kind of respect for the law and due process by continuing the media circus around this issue as if it was the wind up to a WWE Wrestling Bout.

I have been massively frustrated by the misguided and incompetent rhetoric spouted on Twitter and the expectations people have for privacy but with no 'curtains' at the windows.

Twitter, dissatisfied with a call to protest being roundly ignored (less than 13 in Washington DC, I know that's 12 but I was looking for more drama), and unable to garner public support at the polls has unleashed the tin foil hat term 'Signed Malware'. Tim Cook has also coined this issue as 'the software equivalent of Cancer'

Fine, if you don't like it, then appeal chaps but keep it in an open court where there is proper legal argument with knowledge & precedent and a judge

"But Ewen, the DOJ have a further 12 phones to unlock". Ok, fine but that's 12 unique cases with 12 unique warrants and probably 12 different judges all looking at the specifics of the case with people who are competent to argue both sides.

"NYC has 174 Ewen!" Yes sure but again that's 174 warrants, 174 court rooms, 174 judges and 174 lawyers getting paid handsomely for the argument and the gravitas and benefit of the information that can be lifted from these phones needs to be weighed against all of that expense and risk of failure...on both sides.

"What about 23&me and Ancestry.com" being asked about my information?"

Well here's the thing, if you don't want your best mate to know that you're having sex with his wife...don't tell anyone else.

You have a right to legal privilege in law with your Doctor and Lawyer but outside of that, once you give any information to a third party, it's no longer a secret...in law. Moreover, it is actually discoverable in the operation of any criminal investigation. You cannot stop it by bleating that YOUR DNA is YOUR DNA.

Banks have discrete services for clients and can pride themselves on their confidentiality but once there is a court order telling them to divulge details or open safety deposit boxes, they must.

And so it should be. But only by judicial oversight and court order or warrant and only for each individual case in point.

The Tech industry won't get any further even if it continues to scream about end to end encryption. If a bank has an unopenable box, then the law will mandate destruction or pass laws to prevent the use of unopenable boxes.

And so it should be.

You will never successfully argue that data given to a third party will be secret. Get over it

Ewen

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