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Apple ( AAPL ) CEO Tim Cook took a strong stand late Tuesday against government pressure for help in hacking into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Silicon Valley was relatively muted Wednesday, but Alphabet ( GOOGL ) unit Google CEO Sundar Pichai and WhatsApp founder and Facebook ( FB ) board member Jan Koum both came out in support of Cook’s stand. Pichai defended Apple in a series of Twitter ( TWTR ) posts, saying that “forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy.” 1/5 Important post by @tim_cook . Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy — sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016 He added in subsequent Twitter posts that Alphabet’s core Google unit gives “law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders,” but “requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data” could be a “troubling precedent.” A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the killers in the San Bernardino shootings. But Cook said creating an iPhone backdoor would lead to more government demands and provide an opportunity to hackers and criminals. WhatsApp Founder Defends Apple Meanwhile, Jan Koum, founder of WhatsApp, wrote in a Facebook post: “I have always admired Tim Cook for his stance on privacy and Apple’s efforts to protect user data and couldn’t agree more with everything said in their Customer Letter today. We must not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake.” Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. Not surprisingly, Edward Snowden, the ex-NSA contractor who revealed the government’s widespread surveillance programs, also took to Twitter to defend Apple’s Cook. “The @FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on #Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around.” The @FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on #Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around. https://t.co/vdjB6CuB7k — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 17, 2016 Scalper1 News
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