FBI and Apple

In 2016, Apple refused to comply with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) court order requesting they unlock and disable the auto-erase security feature in the iPhone (5c) that belonged to Syed Rizwan Farook, the San Bernadino gunman. Apple believed that it was unethical to breach consumers’ privacy and the question of whether technology companies should allow a 'back door' into their security settings to allow the harvesting or hacking of consumer data became an issue. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO is quoted as saying, "There's no such thing as a back door for the good guys only." This back door issue could have wider implications for the future as people depend more on the connection of their devices to the internet and data collection via the Internet of Things (IoT).

In the end, the FBI used a third-party to break into Farook's phone.

National Security vs Data Privacy
In 2014, Edward Snowdon revealed NSA surveillance practices. Based on Snowdon's revelations, that the NSA spent years trying to hack into Apple's products, Apple decided to "make it impossible for the company to unlock its own devices". The tension and uncertainty surrounding data, encryption, cyber security, network infrastructure and data privacy continues to be hotly debated between governments and human rights and privacy organizations.