Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Edward Snowden, back Apple against greater surveillance

Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive officer, tweeted on Wednesday that asking companies to create a way to hack into people’s devices and data would set a “troubling precedent.”

“We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders,” Pichai said. “But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data.”

Edward Snowden and others on Twitter also rallied on Wednesday in support of Apple. “The @FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on #Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around,” said a tweet from the former National Security Agency contractor(@Snowden). Snowden, who is accused of violating US espionage laws by leaking details of government surveillance programmes, now lives in Russia.

Pichai’s postings were followed by a statement from the group Reform Government Surveillance, a coalition of companies including Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft and others, echoing the assertion that technology companies shouldn’t be required to build back doors into their products.

“RGS companies remain committed to providing law enforcement with the help it needs while protecting the security of their customers and their customers’ information,” the group wrote.While Pichai’s statements are a strong endorsement of Apple’s argument against greater surveillance, they also suggest that he’s willing to let Apple CEO Tim Cook take the lead in a confrontation seen by many as a watershed moment.


Bloomberg & Reuters