Google's CEO Says "Forcing Companies To Enable Hacking Could Compromise Users’ Privacy."

Google’s Sundar Pichai has thrown his support behind Apple’s recent decision to push back against the FBI and not build a backdoor into iOS. In the Google CEO’s first tweetstorm, Sundar notes that requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data “could be a troubling precedent.” Could be? It would be.

The CEO’s sentiments are laid out over the five tweets embedded below but the tl;dr is in the first one: “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy”

1/5 Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

2/5 We know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

3/5 We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

5/5 Looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

This comes a day after Apple’s Tim Cook published an open letter detailing why the company will fight a court order asking Apple for some very specific technical assistance in order to enable the FBI to access data on an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Tim Cook isn’t standing alone. WhatsApp founder Jan Koum published a short Facebook post today, noting that “we should not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake.” The ACLU and EFF also released statements siding with Apple’s stance.