Apple Warns FBI Could Make Them Turn On iPhone Cameras and Microphones Next
If the FBI successfully manages to force Apple to unlock the suspected San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, the government could use the precedent to require the tech company to remotely turn on users’ iPhone microphones and cameras, Apple’s senior vice president warned this week.
Eddy Cue, speaking to Univision in a Spanish-language interview, reiterated Apple’s argument that its case against the FBI is not just about one phone or one suspect, but rather an issue of user privacy.
“When they can get us to create a new system to do new things, where will it stop?” Cue said, according to a translation provided to Business Insider. “For example, one day [the FBI] may want us to open your phone’s camera or microphone. Those are things we can’t do now. But if they can force us to do that, I think that’s very bad.”
“Where will this stop?” Cue continued. “In a divorce case? In an immigration case? In a tax case? Some day, someone will be able to turn on a phone’s microphone. That should not happen in this country.”
The interview comes as the FBI continues its efforts to compel Apple to create new software that would enable the agency to break into the encrypted iPhone of suspected San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, which Apple has refused to do on privacy grounds.
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