Apple CEO Tim Cook chided the U.S. government recently, citing its weak position on maintaining strong encryption systems for tech companies. This came after President Barack Obama met with tech leaders last week at the White House.
Cook wants the President to take a firm stand against repeated requests for "backdoors" from law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Authorities want the cooperation of tech companies, particularly with respect to special access on encrypted systems as part of the ongoing U.S. campaign against terrorism. Cook must have been following up on the White House's earlier pronouncement that it will not seek legislation against unbreakable encryption, The Washington Post previously reported. Cook's position is that the special access to encrypted data and the creation of tech backdoors in encrypted systems could lead to their exploitation and abuse.
When Cook and other representatives from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Cloudfare and LinkedIn met with administration officials, he reportedly engaged Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a heated exchange. Cook's position did not sit well with the Attorney General, who argued that a balance is necessary between privacy and national security, according to The Intercept.
"The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened - even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order - to me does not make any sense," FBI director James Comey said, according to The Guardian.
