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This may be a stupid question and obviously Apple would never do it, but if Apple decided they wanted to ignore these requests, and stopped selling Apple device

This may be a stupid question and obviously Apple would never do it, but if Apple decided they wanted to ignore these requests, and stopped selling Apple devices in the US until the government backed down, do you think public opinion would force the government to comply? Just wondering how much power such a huge company has.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago
Given that they're a US corporation, ignoring the requests could result in Tim Cook (and others) in handcuffs. Ignoring the government is not a safe option. That's where it would start. Then we'd see if public opinion was enough to rescue them. And I doubt that public opinion would be strongly enough in favor of Apple to save them. There's a lot of people who love Apple, true; but there are a lot of people who love national security, too. (And yes, I am aware that there is not an inherent contradiction between Apple's stance and national security, but I'm not sure that enough people understand that to make public opinion come down hard on Apple's side.)
- newman314 11y ago
  Or cue what happened to Naachio. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/09/30/a-ceo-who-resisted-nsa-spying-is-out-of-prison-and-he-feels-vindicated-by-snowden-leaks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/09/30...
  - joering2 11y ago
    Couldn't have more respect to this man. And his case feels like carbon copy of Lavabit, where he couldn't defend himself (literally!!!) But Nacchio was prevented from bringing up any of this defense during his jury trial — the evidence needed to support it was deemed classified and the judge in his case refused his requests to use it.
newmemory 11y ago
Nope. The CEO will just be tried, convicted and jailed. And while that's happening, the backdoor will be quietly installed. Remember Quest[1]? [1]: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25434854/former-qwest-ceo-nacchio-claims-tv-his-jail http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25434854/former-qwest-...
- ProAm 11y ago
  This is way more in the publics view compared to when Quest went through this though. I dont believe the government has the ballls to jail Tim Cook, CEO of one of the worlds most valuable companies.
  - morganvachon 11y ago
    Indeed, I think any pressure on Cook will come in the form of sanctions against the company itself, forcing the board's hand into firing Cook or convincing him to back down on his stance. Perhaps a deeper investigation into offshore tax havens by the IRS than other companies are currently under? The IRS is a powerful weapon of intimidation in the government's arsenal, and has been wielded many times in the past.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago

Given that they're a US corporation, ignoring the requests could result in Tim Cook (and others) in handcuffs. Ignoring the government is not a safe option. That's where it would start. Then we'd see if public opinion was enough to rescue them. And I doubt that public opinion would be strongly enough in favor of Apple to save them. There's a lot of people who love Apple, true; but there are a lot of people who love national security, too. (And yes, I am aware that there is not an inherent contradiction between Apple's stance and national security, but I'm not sure that enough people understand that to make public opinion come down hard on Apple's side.)

newman314 11y ago
Or cue what happened to Naachio. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/09/30/a-ceo-who-resisted-nsa-spying-is-out-of-prison-and-he-feels-vindicated-by-snowden-leaks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/09/30...
- joering2 11y ago
  Couldn't have more respect to this man. And his case feels like carbon copy of Lavabit, where he couldn't defend himself (literally!!!) But Nacchio was prevented from bringing up any of this defense during his jury trial — the evidence needed to support it was deemed classified and the judge in his case refused his requests to use it.

newmemory 11y ago

Nope. The CEO will just be tried, convicted and jailed. And while that's happening, the backdoor will be quietly installed. Remember Quest[1]? [1]: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25434854/former-qwest-ceo-nacchio-claims-tv-his-jail http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25434854/former-qwest-...

ProAm 11y ago
This is way more in the publics view compared to when Quest went through this though. I dont believe the government has the ballls to jail Tim Cook, CEO of one of the worlds most valuable companies.
- morganvachon 11y ago
  Indeed, I think any pressure on Cook will come in the form of sanctions against the company itself, forcing the board's hand into firing Cook or convincing him to back down on his stance. Perhaps a deeper investigation into offshore tax havens by the IRS than other companies are currently under? The IRS is a powerful weapon of intimidation in the government's arsenal, and has been wielded many times in the past.