Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at a White House cybersecurity summit on Friday at Stanford University, according to The Hill. The summit is another battleground in which tech companies and the government will discuss encryption.

userprivacy

The White House is expected to reveal its next executive action on cybersecurity at the summit, which will bring together tech executives, leading academics and government officials to discuss ways in which the government can better collaborate with the private sector on cybersecurity initiatives.

Cook and other technology executives have called for government surveillance reform, calling for limitations on government authority to collect users' information, oversight and accountability, transparency about demands and more.

Meanwhile, the FBI has been in talks with companies like Google and Apple about their privacy features and have expressed concern that their encryption makes it difficult for investigators to infiltrate a kidnapper or terrorist's device for information that could prevent crimes or attacks. One Department of Justice official told Apple that investigators' inability to access their devices could lead to children dying.

FBI Assistant Director Joe Demarest Jr. and Secret Service Deputy Director A.T. Smith are two of the government officials who will give remarks on Friday.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

76ShovelHead Avatar
143 months ago
Think about the children! :rolleyes:

Privacy is important in this ever-changing world. Just because there are sicko's, and there always will be, doesn't mean the average Joe should have to give up his privacy. There is no good that can come of it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
143 months ago
The gov should be able to access it with a warrant, problem is they think that because it's on an iPhone now the 5th amendment no longer matters, so it forced companies like Apple to block it all together. Really it's there own fault for overstepping to begin with.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elmateo487 Avatar
143 months ago
The gov should be able to access it with a warrant, problem is they think that because it's on an iPhone now the 5th amendment no longer matters, so it forced companies like Apple to block it all together. Really it's there own fault for overstepping to begin with.

Yeah. "with a warrant." Uh huh

Let's go ask our friend Ed Snowden what he thinks.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Swift Avatar
143 months ago
I think of it this way: the default should be private. But most of the Internet is public. One day the whole world will be on it. Some things, like shopping and banking, personal conversations, etc, are private. Other places, much less so.

However, why don't Americans just read the Constitution? By default, your home, and your private life, is private. When police find information that you may be committing a crime-- not by surveillance, but in real life-- they can get a warrant for a search from a judge. So, why not the same for the Internet as for real life? A warrant can mean a search of your papers, your bedroom or your phone line.the Internet should be the same.

A lot of people say you can't allow tapping a computer because that means an insecure back door. That's not true. It's another way into your account with the government having a public key as well, that would be illegal for them to use unless they got a warrant, based on them convincing a judge they had reasonable grounds to suspect you were committing a crime. I'm not talking about spy agencies, but state and federal law enforcement. Putting child porn or the records of a criminal enterprise in the cloud shouldn't make it safer than in real life. I can't figure out why it's different. There were thousands of hours of phone calls recorded to catch one Mafia boss. Should be able to get a warrant if the Mafia boss's hipper son joins the business.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jimmy James Avatar
143 months ago
It's too secure.
It's not secure enough.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Verizon New

Verizon is Down: iPhones Show 'SOS' Mode Due to Network Outage [Resolved]

Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms. iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Google Gemini-Powered Siri Will Reportedly Have These 7 New Features

Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to… Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner Tell more stories Provide...