[vlod]

A case I heard recently is that if a undercover CIA operative was captured in e.g. China (with an iPhone), should Apple be compelled to break the security if demanded by the Chinese government?

[danans]

Compelled by whom?

Setting aside patriotism, seems like that's a choice between the less painful of the consequences of a) non compliance set by the Chinese government vs b) the cost of _compliance_ set by the US government.

EDIT: Also, why would the CIA ever entrust their communications and data to a format/device that could be cracked by a commercial entity that could be subject to the above scenario?

[dopamean]

I think people would argue that since Apple is not a Chinese company they'd be ok with Apple ignoring the request.

[jameshart]

I'm sure Apple could just set up its iPhone production lines somewhere else in no time at all, right?