Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweets in support of Apple’s decision to not unlock terrorist's iPhone 5c

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A couple of days ago, a federal judge ruled that Apple assists the authorities in unlocking the iPhone 5c that belonged to Syed Farook — one of the two shooters in the recent San Bernardino terrorist attack. The data that is on the smartphone would be used for the ongoing investigation, as the authorities look for any accomplices or ties to other organizations.

Apple's response came in the form of an open letter, penned by CEO Tim Cook. In it, Mr. Cook says that if Apple were to help out in this individual case, it would set a dangerous precedent, undermining decades of work that its engineers poured into the system's security. The issue here is that Apple, supposedly, has absolutely no way to override the security on a locked iPhone. In order for this to be done, a special iOS would have to be written, and the existence of such a software, Apple believes, would put millions of its users in danger of malicious attacks from anyone who can get their hands on it.

Today, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the matter. In a series of 5 tweets, Mr. Pichai says that Google builds secure products that keep user information safe, but do give law enforcement specific data when legal orders are present. However, forcing companies to enable the hacking of a whole device is a dangerous game, Mr. Pichai continues.

It's obviously not a black and white situation here, as some are concerned that letting the data on that iPhone 5c remain locked could potentially be enabling further terror attacks down the road. Others, however, are obviously concerned that once a company introduces a backdoor into its own software, privacy and safety of information will slowly dwindle away in less than a decade. What's your take on this tough debate?

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