#SaveSecurity: Online Campaign Rallies Against FBI's Order to Create iPhone Backdoor

Image: Fight for the Future

#SaveSecurity: Online Campaign Rallies Against FBI's Order to Create iPhone Backdoor

'What the government is trying to do in this case doesn't just threaten our basic rights, it puts all of us in danger'

As Apple and the FBI continue their landmark encryption battle, a digital rights group launched on Wednesday a new campaign to protest what it calls the bureau's "misguided and dangerous" push threatening everyone's safety.

Fight for the Future's online campaign argues--just as Apple CEO Tim Cook, the UN human rights chief, and other security advocates have--that the case in which the FBI is seeking Apple's assistance to break into an iPhone recovered from one of the suspected San Bernardino shooters is not just about the one phone.

Rather, "it's about the future of safety and security for millions of people all over the world," said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, in a media statement. And according to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, it's "the most important tech case in a decade."

The new #SaveSecurity campaign is gathering online signatures and comments to demonstrate opposition to the FBI's demand. The group says that those messages will be displayed on March 22 outside a federal court in Riverside, Calif., where the two sides will meet next for a "crucial hearing" on the case.

"We'll be outside the courthouse to make sure those people's voices are heard, because what the government is trying to do in this case doesn't just threaten our basic rights, it puts all of us in danger," Greer's statement continues. "Encryption protects our hospitals, airports, and water treatment facilities. Undermining security risks lives."

The campaign site further explains: "The FBI is trying force Apple to write software that would act as a backdoor for millions of phones, and set a precedent that would make all of us less safe.

"To unlock just one iPhone, the FBI wants Apple to do something that would undermine the security of every iPhone, and by extension, every system maintained by those who use iPhones. Hospitals. Air traffic control. Nuclear power. What the FBI is asking for puts lives at risk. The precedent would harm all products, not just Apple's."

In addition to gathering comments to be displayed, the campaign offers an image for social media users and websites to use to display their supporter for encryption.

The new campaign comes a day after Apple wrote in its last court filing before the March 22 hearing that "[t]he Founders would be appalled" by the government's request to unlock the encrypted iPhone. And, according to Nick Cardozo, a staff attorney with the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Apple's right."

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.