who's phone is it anyway? San Bernadino County's? the terrorist's?

Pickton would only be considered a mass murderer if he killed all 49 victims at the same time. He's a serial killer.

@8: thanks, windbag. shortest post of your life.

@5 @7

Unmodified, iOS7 has all the characteristics the FBI is asking Apple for in this case, and Apple itself installed that operating system on millions of phones.

The phone in question is running iOS8-- arguably a modified version of iOS7. Which Apple again installed unilaterally on millions of phones.

I still don't get why more people aren't talking about this other aspect of this issue: The FBI and the court in this case are trying to create a defacto law forcing the retro installation of backdoors in operating systems and other technology.

If a company doesn't want to put a backdoor into their product, that should be their choice, unless their is a law saying otherwise.

So, why won't legislatures or the US congress give the FBI and other state security arms the backdoor they so passionately desire by passing a law requiring such backdoors?

Well, clearly legislators are too afraid their constituents, the citizens, don't want backdoors installed in everything. Also, a specific law can then be challenged on constitutional or other grounds.

Personally, I think the state forcing people to do technical work they don't want to do is totalitarian, Stalinist.

And seriously, why isn't the FBI asking congress to pass new laws so this kind of problem won't happen in the future? Because it is a backdoor, no matter how much they want to call it something else.

From a broader view, this is obviously a carefully chosen test case for the FBI and the courts, perhaps even for some legislators or think tanks who want to see how the PR plays out. Can't get a better case for courts forcing private citizens to do involuntary work for the state than one involving a crazy mass murderer.

Of course not: He's a member of the Ruling Klass. --- http://www.eff.org & http://www.duckduckgo.com & http://www.hushmail.com & http://www.wikileaks.org