Is Apple right in saying no to the government's request

Tim Cook’s letter begins, “The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.”The FBI wants Apple to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the San Bernadino investigation. This is the request Apple has said no to. “In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.”

Hard to keep up with tech

Tech keeps on changing rapidly making it imperative on the government to keep up with laws. If you 3D print your toys, who will pay for replacements during warranty? Law makers will need to understand the possibilities of technology to be able to create governing systems. The hackers need no such permissions. They keep playing cat and mouse games with manufacturers.Every time there is a cyberattack the debate rages about data privacy and the need to ensure our data does not end up with some unwanted agency

Don’t underestimate the clout of Big A

Apple competes with Alphabet to be the company with the biggest market capitalization in our history. Apple’s market cap is more than $500 billion. Alphabet competes with them. Apple gets more than 90% of the profits of the global smartphones market. They are selling more PCs than any other PC manufacturer. They are 74% of the smartwatch market with the pricey-as-hell Apple Watch. The entire Swiss watch industry is $25 billion and the Apple watch alone will be about $5bn. They had more than $200 billion in cash last year after adding $51 billion dollars to their wallet last year. Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook are all competing to become the first trillion-dollar behemoth.That clout gives them the ability to push back and operate on their own terms. This is the new power equation that is taking shape. Big business is not big enough if it has to kow-tow to the government as long as it is not doing anything illegal. Big corporations can now stand eye to eye with the Government.

With big power comes big responsibility

A peeved Justice Department believes that Apple protests too much. They said Apple’s refusal is a “marketing strategy” after all it is no more than an update to an operating system that Apple routinely does any way. As far as privacy is concerned, Apple is storing the most sensitive data of its users that is being used to market new services to them. Even the commands given to Siri are stored for two years by Apple. Users have willingly given them the keys to their own data. They expect it to be kept safe from misuse. Protecting it from hackers or any unauthorized usage is not acceptable.Apple is one of the most admired companies and cash rich and powerful and with a huge base of loyal customers. With this new found clout comes great responsibility. The leaders of these companies will have to start behaving like statesmen and not politicians who only care about their constituencies regardless of the price that anyone else pays.This time Apple has said no to FBI’s request to gain access to their walled garden. Governments make requests to companies like Twitter and Facebook to block posts that they define as inflammatory. The line between what one defines as freedom of expression and sedition is often blurred. The decision to protect life and liberty and beyond is getting distributed from the government to the corporations. Profit motives cannot guide these decisions. We need these to be taken by the Statesman-CEO. We depend on them.-------------Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri