Quote Originally Posted by Irving View Post
Seems like the government can "backdoor" those safety requirements by saying, 'you can make whatever vehicle you want, but in order to be used on public roadways, these features must be present.'
Yes, that's the way they're doing it. The one difference is that they generally do it only after an effective device has been proven to exist. Apple is saying FBiOS doesn't exist and they have concerns about the general safety if it were to exist. Very distinct concerns:

1. Does a version of iOS doing what the FBI wants exist? I think even the FBI agrees the answer to this is no.
2. Can a version of iOS doing what the FBI wants be created? Disputed.
3. If this special version of iOS is made, can it be protected from dissemination in the wild? Disputed.
4. If this special version of iOS is made, can the government be prevented from copying it?
5. If this special version of iOS is made, can the government be trusted to use it only for the one instance they have cited? Disputed.
6. If Apple complies with the FBI request, what's to prevent other LE or state prosecutors from making similar requests?

More esoterically,
7. Does FBiOS constitute a "backdoor" for all iPhones?
8. Is Apple being asked to "break" the cryptography on iPhones?

I add the last two esoterically simply because that's what some people are saying in their writings but note that a "backdoor" is a specific type of security vulnerability, usually involving installing one or more special keys or passwords that allow entry at will. This is more along the lines of circumventing rather than breaking the encryption. A laymen's analogy would be if I, as an architect or security company, purposely designed one or more blind entries into a bank or installation so I could get in at will -- that's a backdoor -- versus an Ocean's Eleven or Mission Impossible team breaking in by attacking how security was implemented or just brute forcing it with a Panzer round (ala Kelly's Heroes).