Operation "Apple Juice" - of iPhones and iPhonies

This post doesn't bring anything new and exciting to the controversy about whether Apple can and should unlock iPhones.

Marcy Wheeler has said what needs to be said.

Go here: emptywheel ‏@emptywheel 2h2 hours ago

Again, Comey testified to Congress they want back doors, in part, to investigate car accidents. It's not about SB. http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/apple_allwrits_list.pdf …

and here for a possible secret side to the debate:

emptywheel ‏@emptywheel 8m8 minutes ago

Those noting public Apple requests may serve as proxy for secret ones, rem HJC got unprecedented secret 702 briefing https://www.emptywheel.net/2016/02/02/what-secrets-are-the-spooks-telling-hjc-about-section-702/ …

Now, having stated nothing new and exciting was coming, why bother with a post?

Because the blogster would like to reframe the tussle in starker terms.

1) Government will not accept that individuals might have an area in life that is beyond its reach. Maybe one day, we'll see a document that shows the strategy employed now had been discussed and agreed upon some time ago.

2) Setting a high profile example is as American as apple pie, in this case "Apple Juice". Telling the government to go away will only increase the effort on the part of government. This is true across the board, whether you are an internet drug dealer like Ross Ulbricht of Silk Road fame, a Middle Eastern dictator not in the mood to co-operate, or a company.

And, of course, for the plain giggles of the headline. 

[Update 3/2/2016] Even the German press now concedes the issue goes beyond a single phone.