(DIYA TV) — Sundar Pichai, the Indian American CEO of Google, has chimed in on the intensifying battle between Apple Computer and the FBI — a federal judge recently ordered the tech giant to create a program which would allow the FBI to hack into San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. The technology is currently not in existence, requiring the company to create it, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said in a statement.
FBI Director James Comey said his agency has still been unable to access Farook’s iPhone due to the encryption software installed on the device — after a certain amount of attempts to login to the phone, all of the data inside of the device erases itself, to safeguard one’s personal data. The FBI wants to know if there are clues inside of the phone which can help them figure out why the shooting in San Bernardino happened, or if there are planned future attacks.
Pichai said Cook’s refusal letter was “important,” and that following the judge’s order in assisting the FBI to gain access to the phone “could be a troubling precedent.” Pichai and Google’s own mobile operating system, Android, makes his voice crucial in the debate; Android also offers encryption to secure personal data on its phones.
“We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders,” Pichai tweeted. “But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data.” His immediate defense of Cook’s decision was obvious. “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy.” Pichai recognized this as a sensitive topic, and said he’s “looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue.”
1/5 Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016
3/5 We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016
4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016
However, some of those whom don’t believe the government considers the privacy of the American public, or Google, for that matter. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden chimed into the debate himself, targeting Pichai as what he thinks is part of the problem.
This is the most important tech case in a decade. Silence means @google picked a side, but it's not the public's. https://t.co/mi5irJcr25
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 17, 2016