How Trump Made Sauce of Apple

To anyone who has ever unwittingly signed over their firstborn children by clicking the constantly shifting “Agree to Terms of Conditions” in iTunes—or anyone who has ever wanted to use a smartphone without wondering how old the child was who made it—is aware the Apple corporation as it exists in the year 2016 is not necessarily known for its customer-friendly practices. Which is why it was remarkable Wednesday when Apple CEO Tim Cook fought back against an order from the federal government in defense of millions of Apple customers. It was a brave call. And in any year we would all be celebrating Cook. But not this year.

In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, a federal magistrate Tuesday ordered Apple to create special software for an iPhone connected with the case that would allow investigators to bypass Apple’s security without wiping the phone clean (which is what the phone is designed to do in the wake of such a security breach). Cook reacted swiftly and strongly with a public letter to customers, claiming, “The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”