Comment by GeekyBear
20 hours ago
You probably don't want to look up which US President tried to force Apple to insert an encryption back door into iPhones back in 2015.
However, Google did only start moving to protect location data from subpoenas after people started to worry that location data could be used as a legal weapon against women who went to an abortion clinic, so your larger point stands.
That would be none, as it was the FBI, operating independently (as it's supposed to), which tried to force the issue. They even tried to go to Congress but found little support for their stunt. I'm not even sure Obama ever spoke in support of the backdoor, much less used any political power to make it a reality.
Sorry, but the FBI is part of the executive branch.
This is exactly like saying that President Trump has nothing to do with the actions of the executive branch agencies today.
it's true that the honour system only works when there's honour in the people in charge.
when a clown moves into a palace, the clown doesn't become the king - the palace becomes a circus.
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Points about Russia or partisan politics aside, there are now at least 10M people living in the US who have a very strong incentive to hide all their data from the executive branch. That's to say nothing of the countless millions who might want to help them.
The demand for encryption just exploded, in a legal gray area (city, state, and federal laws seem to be in conflict here) it's just a question of whether governments allows the supply to follow.