Apple has received much applause from civil libertarian corners for its refusal to comply with an FBI demand to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone. "We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government," wrote CEO Tim Cook in his public letter explaining the decision.
But perhaps the tech giant's stand isn't quite as principled as it seems. According to prosecutors in a similar court case in New York in 2015, Apple has accessed iPhones for law enforcement some 70 times since 2008. That's a figure Apple itself does not deny, reports The Daily Beast, and the company refused compliance then on grounds of reputational damage.
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