In December of 2015 a terrorist couple in San Bernardino, California, killed many of their co-workers and were eventually shot themselves by law enforcement. One of their phones, issued by the workplace, was retrieved. Through a series of misunderstandings by law enforcement access to the iPhone, secured with a 4-digit PIN, was lost, and the FBI asked the manufacturer, Apple, to help by pushing an update to the iPhone that would allow an unlimited number of guesses as to the PIN (otherwise trying more than several times could brick the device). Apple refused. The whole thing went public in February of 2016. A court date was set. Before the court date arrived the FBI was able to get into the phone with help from an outside source. While the situation with that particular phone seemed resolved, the larger issues remain. You can read more about it in the #FBiOS readings section. Although this topic incorporates things like security and intellectual property, it’s at heart about privacy. Discuss the case, making sure to cover all these details: 1. Who are the stakeholders in the case? 2. What ethical principles are guiding the stakeholders? 3. What biases might be guiding the stakeholders? 4. Given the rights and obligations of the stakeholders what are all the alternatives, including benefits and risks? 5. If you were omnipotent, what would you have happen? Justify this using what you’ve learned about ethics and privacy from the readings for Weeks 3/4.
