Civics: The technology at the heart of the Apple-FBI debate, explained

Christopher Soghoian:

The author is the Principal Technologist with the Speech, Privacy & Technology Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

What if the FBI could force Samsung to covertly turn on the video camera in your smart TV? Or force Google to deliver a malicious security update to your web browser which actually spied on you and transmitted your passwords and other sensitive information back to the FBI? Sound like something from a dystopian sci-fi movie? If Apple loses its high-profile legal fight with the US government, these scenarios could become a reality. This will also threaten the security of all Internet users.