MARCY WHEELER, emptywheel at gmail.com, @emptywheel
Wheeler writes widely about the legal aspects of the “war on terror” and its effects on civil liberties. She blogs at emptywheel.net. She said today: “After setting up a showdown that DOJ [Department of Justice] looked set to lose, DOJ all of a sudden discovered and implemented an alternative way to access Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone, even though for months they had claimed to need Apple’s help to access it. While it looks like DOJ backed off a fight they seemed sure to lose, even since Monday’s announcement, DOJ has renewed its determination to access other phones, most of which it can probably access via other means as well. Ultimately there needs to be affirmative protection for companies that build security into their products, or the government will continue to attempt to chip away in secret.”

Wheeler’s pieces include: “DOJ’s Pre-Ass-Handing Capitulation,” “Why This iPhone?” (for Slate) and “The government’s iPhone-cracking crusade is getting even creepier,” (for Salon).