Bill Gates Sides With Government in Apple IPhone Clash, FT Says

Bill Gates Sides With Government in Apple IPhone Clash, FT Says The Microsoft co-founder sets himself apart from the industry Gates says case similar to phone and bank record requests Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Share on LinkedInShare on RedditShare on Google+E-mail Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates has sided with the U.S. government in a dispute over Apple Inc.’s refusal to break into a terrorist’s iPhone, breaking ranks with the industry in a face-off with law enforcement, the Financial Times reported. A court order requiring Apple to help unlock the phone of a terrorist involved in a December attack was a one-time request and “no different” from accessing bank and telephone records, the billionaire told the FT. His opinion appeared to diverge from his own company, part of an industry coalition that backed Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook’s warning that building backdoors into mobile software sets a dangerous precedent. “This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information,” Gates said in an interview with the newspaper published on Tuesday. “It is no different than [the question of] should anybody ever have been able to tell the phone company to get information, should anybody be able to get at bank records.” Apple’s clash with the government has escalated since Cook last week said he would fight the court order, drawing the support of industry peers from Google Inc. to Facebook Inc. Cook’s stance ignited a long-simmering battle between the technology industry and the government, pitting concerns over civil liberties against the need for surveillance to fight terrorism. Gates becomes the highest-profile industry figure to speak out in favor of the U.S. government’s stance. Last week, a judge ordered Apple to lend “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI in recovering information from the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, with his wife in December. Apple has rejected the order, saying that it would open a “Pandora’s Box” of privacy issues. It faces a Feb. 26 deadline to file its rebuttal to the government’s argument in court, with a hearing scheduled for March 22.