Google CEO Sundar Pichai issues weak five-tweet response to Tim Cook’s open letter

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has issued a response to Tim Cook’s open letter damning the DoJ’s request for a back door into iOS.

As we noted earlier, such a tool is not limited to iOS, or one phone — it potentially affects us all, long term.

Here is Pichai’s full five-tweet response to the letter:

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

— sundarpichai (@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

— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

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

— sundarpichai (@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

— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

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

— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

As you can see, not quite a glowing endorsement of Apple’s hard stance, but at least we know where Google officially stands on this important issue.

➤ Sundar Pichai [Twitter]