&gt; the moral case for refusing to hack into a terrorist’s phone is hard to make – particularly in the US over an Isis-inspired attack during an election year.<p>&gt; Technology companies may not create oil spills, but their effects on modern life are suddenly spreading across a gamut of topics – privacy, tax, regulation, safety, even housing<p>&gt; That’s why the San Bernardino case could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The FBI knows that the publicity from this battle won’t be favourable to Apple, whichever way the courts rule.<p>&gt; What if the next case involves taxis and short lets used for child trafficking? Or tax avoidance turning out to fund terrorism? Those may sound farfetched, but they’re only a form of Kranzberg’s first law: “Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.”<p>&gt; This week, the tech business is learning, to its reputational cost, just what that really means.<p>People may be taking offensive to the author not outright denouncing the FBI. He also doesn&#x27;t sound like a fan of the tech industry (which is certainly ok). But there&#x27;s a definite tone conveyed in just a few paragraphs.