&gt; The fact that they can resist the order and in a such a public way feels a little bit theatrical, given what we know about how these things work.<p>I wondered that too.  I read that Apple wanted to keep the debate quiet, and that it was the FBI who wanted to have a public debate.<p>Anyway, here we are having the &quot;public debate about security vs. privacy on computers&quot;<p>FBI sympathizers complain that some people are talking in extremes, and that the issue needs a balanced, nuanced approach like Bill Gates has offered.<p>Tech experts tell them that encryption can&#x27;t be outlawed and the FBI is deaf to it<p>Regardless of whether we&#x27;re talking about zero knowledge devices or not, now is the time to have the debate, because compelling Apple to act here is one step away from telling them they can&#x27;t legally create a completely secure device.  If we do this, so will China and other oppressive regimes, and it will hurt the global cause of free speech irrevocably.