Chicago Police: 'Apple Will Become the Phone of Choice for the Pedophile'

Law enforcement officials are speaking out against Apple's announcement that it can no longer decrypt iPhones for law enforcement if the device is running iOS 8.

Yesterday the FBI indicated that it was in talks with Apple and Google over their improved encryption features. FBI director James Comey said he was 'very concerned' with the steps that tech giants were taking to strengthen privacy on mobile devices.

"I am a huge believer in the rule of law, but I am also a believer that no one in this country is beyond the law," Comey told reporters. "What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."


Local police are also complaining about the move with some going as far as suggesting that the iPhone will be the phone of choice for pedophiles, reports the Washington Post.

“Apple will become the phone of choice for the pedophile,” said John J. Escalante, chief of detectives for Chicago’s police department. “The average pedophile at this point is probably thinking, I’ve got to get an Apple phone.”

“I’ve been an investigator for almost 27 years,” says Los Angeles police Detective Brian Collins, “It’s concerning that we’re beginning to go backwards with this technology.”

These statements are dismissed by civil liberties activists.


“Law enforcement has an enormous range of technical and old-fashioned methods to go after the perpetrators of real crime, and no amount of security effort at Silicon Valley tech companies is going to change that fact,” said Peter Eckersley, director of technology projects at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group based in San Francisco. “The reality is that if the FBI really wants to investigate someone, they have a spectacular arsenal of weapons.”

Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Should Apple be able to let the FBI into your phone if they have a warrant?

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