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Week 3 Day 1: Should government regulate encryption? Watch and find out.

In December, 2015, in a rented banquet room during an employee Christmas party for the San Berdardino, California Department of Public Health, one employee and his wife opened fire. By the time they were done, 14 people were dead and 22 more were injured. Law enforcement tracked them down and they died in a shootout a few hours later.

The dead terrorists left an encrypted Apple phone behind and everyone wanted to find out what other relevant information it had. But nobody had the password to get inside. And nobody knew if the phone had been set to brick itself after a few login failures.

In the wake of horrible events like this, and in the name of public safety, should government regulate encryption?

Watch and find out.

(I need to fix a verbal “typo” near the end of the video. After that other company came up with a decryption solution for the terrorists’ Apple phone, the FBI engaged that company and paid for it. In the video, I said Apple paid for it. I apologize for my slip of the tongue; the FBI paid for it, not Apple.)