NBC

Why Are Apple and the FBI Battling Over an iPhone?

Both Apple and the FBI want to do their job, as they see it, NBC News reports

A long-brewing conflict between one of the world's largest and most recognizable companies and the FBI leapt into public view on Tuesday after a federal judge ordered Apple to help government investigators find a way into an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, massacre last December.

So … what's the deal? Is Apple really locking itself out of its own phones? Does everyone in the government agree on this issue, against Apple and other major tech companies? And what do cybersecurity experts and cryptographers think?

Both Apple and the FBI want to do their job, as they see it, NBC News reports. The FBI wants to fight bad guys and keep people safe. Apple wants to build cool new technology and keep its shareholders happy.

This new court order presents some wrinkles for the ongoing conversation. But there's been a lot of chatter about the broader encryption issue in the tech community over the past year.

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