The latest episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" concerns something hidden from nearly everyone but increases in importance on a daily basis: encryption.
Oliver's discussion on encryption stems from the recent events wherein Apple was asked to unlock a phone owned by an attacker in San Bernardino shooting incident. According to Reuters, "U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn ruled that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation."
On his weekly segment, Oliver discussed the importance of encryption especially on the protection of one's personal information from hackers and attackers. This is after the recent call from President Obama towards tech companies in providing access to the mobile phone that was deemed very important in learning more about the perpetrators.
According to New York Times, "the president warned that America had already accepted that law enforcement can 'rifle through your underwear' in searches for those suspected of preying on children, and he said there was no reason that a person's digital information should be treated differently."
Posted on their official YouTube page, Oliver makes his case on the debate, "There is no easy side to be on in this debate. Strong encryption has its costs from protecting terrorists, to drug dealers, to child pornographers. But I happen to feel that the risks of weakening encryption, even a little bit, even just for the government, are potentially much worse and even though I'm on Apple's side in this case, I do think they would help both their customers and the government understand this a lot better if they were a little more honest regarding security in their ads."
The segment ends with a fake ad for Apple that focuses on encryption problems, security concerns and the implication if tech companies are forced to limit the encryption of their products for easier access.
Watch the full video below:
