The emergence of technology, software, and hardware has made it very difficult for local, state, and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to investigate acts of terrorism. As an example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attempted to gain access to Syed Rizwan Farook’s cell phone shortly after the San Bernardino terrorist attack that killed 14 individuals and wounded 22 others on December 2, 2015. The FBI was initially unable to access the data on the cell phone because of Apple’s lock code and iOS on the iPhone. The FBI demanded that Apple assist in the investigation and provide access to the cell phone. In short, this led to a public debate between Apple and the FBI regarding privacy and intelligence-gathering. Do you believe it is important for manufacturers such as Apple, Google, Amazon, and others to provide a “back door” in order to assist local, state, and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the investigation of domestic and global terrorist attacks? Why, or why not?
