[grey-area]

Even worse than that, the precedent will be set that government agencies can ask any tech company to subvert their own security. So TVs, phones, echoes, webcams, computers, analytics.js could all legally be modified to become surveillance devices, and if doing one, why not do them all?

[camillomiller]

My question is: why hasn't the fbi gone after a smaller player to set this kind of precedent? One that wouldn't have had the huge legal resources to oppose the request that Apple has.

I think what's coming out of this is that the Fbi is riddled with incompetence and inability to face modern threats, plus a silly hybris that is the foundation for silly strategical mistakes.

[chopin]

Presumably because smaller players don't have such elaborate security. Those can always argue that the government should use one of the well-known exploits.

I also could imagine that Apple would aid such a case anyways.