Friday, March 4, 2016

UN rights chief warns FBI risks ‘unlocking a Pandora’s Box’ in Apple case


An FBI bid to force Apple to unlock an iPhone risks setting a dangerous precedent that could have serious global ramifications for human rights, the United Nations rights chief warned Friday.
“In order to address a security-related issue related to encryption in one case, the authorities risk unlocking a Pandora’s Box that could have extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement. He warned that an FBI order that would require Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators of the December 2 attack in San Bernardino, California, would “set a precedent that may make it impossible for Apple or any other major international IT company to safeguard their clients’ privacy anywhere in the world.” Apple has argued that the only way to unlock the phone would be to introduce a weakened operating system, which could potentially leak out and be exploited by hackers and foreign governments.

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