It’s a slang term and you are reading an internet blog, not The Astronomical Journal.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this. I just wanted to make sure I was coming at this article with the accurate interpretation. Your time is really appreciated! :)

I don’t keep all of my online purchases, email, internet history, geo locations, contacts, call history, text messages, etc. in a safe. The government having indiscriminate access to my cell phone is a little different than them opening a safe in my home.

Your analysis of the (very valid) safe analogy is lacking. The equivalent of “calling a locksmith” would be if the government forced a hacker or independent computer expert to hack into the phone. The FBI is not calling the locksmith, the FBI is calling the safe manufacturer. Please go back and reread.

I’m inclined to agree with you on much of this regarding personal privacy rights, however, there also has to be a very real business concern for Apple, and really, the entire smartphone industry. Both Apple and Android continue to move heavily toward wallet integration as a key feature of their devices and operating…

Calling a locksmith and forcing the manufacturer’s compliance are not apples to apples.

The real issue at stake is “Do you have the right for your data to be 100% uncrackable by the government in response to a lawful order.”

Come on, he’s not in favor of a master key, just a key that could open any lock! And forget about back door! THAT’S NOT WHAT HE’S SAYING! He just wants another entrance that can be available should it be needed. BUT IT’S NOT THE SAME THING or something because reasons!

Have to agree with Jean here, your entire post is a plea for back doors, you just don’t use that particular word.

It really seems to me that the FBI is asking Apple to bend over backwards to make up for the lack of proper policy and procedure in San Bernadino County. Is it normal to be given a phone by your employer (a government employer no less) and then be able to set unbreakable privacy protections on it? Am I missing…

Is there some new law of which I am unaware which can compel a specific locksmith to accept a government contract to open a safe because the government has permission to do it?

But in this analogy you’re asking a locksmith to create a tool that doesn’t yet exist that would have the power to crack any safe. Oh and the locksmith makes all his money selling crack-proof safes that suddenly won’t seem very crack-proof to their customers if they comply. Oh and the government has been demanding for…

Just as the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health owns this phone (but doesn’t know the passcode) and wants it unlocked, I own my iPhone 5 (not “c” or “s”). Should Apple be compelled to help me unlock my phone if one day I don’t know my passcode for whatever reason?

They aren’t calling a locksmith. The closer analogy is that they’re calling the makers of the safe and telling them to start building the safes in a way that the government can access any of the manufacturer’s safes at any time in the future without having to call a locksmith.

So the phone in question was issued by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health.....why was it not controlled by a mobile device management system that could simply reset the lock code in an instant? Seems the folks who really fell down on this is them. Not that it would stop any terrorist, but a company…

Beyond the privacy/encryption debate, there’s also another issue here: a government legally compelling a company to develop a technology without compensation. If nothing else, Apple should demand a government contract (and a healthy one) for developing a custom version of their iOS.

I do not believe in back doors or master keys

Unbelievable! Apple needs to firmly stand its ground. We as a people should stand equally as firm. Make no mistake, once the government gets its way, soon not only will it be software breaching each and every smartphones so called,”back door,” it will be your PC next. It was a matter of time before this government of…

If I buy a safe at a garage sale, can I sue the manufacturer for not making a master key for the safe, therefore making the safe useless as an object to keep items private?

There’s something people tend to forget here: Apple is a global company. If this backdoor is created, what’s to stop an oppressive government from cracking open a person’s phone and charging them for a “morality crime?” Gay people in Iran and Russia could be put in danger. People could literally be killed over this.