Apple’s Descent from Privacy Hero to Privacy Villain

In 2016, I, along with some other privacy advocates including writer and commentator Andrew Napolitano, was applauding Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook for standing up for privacy and the United States Constitution in a situation that pitted his company against the power of the United States government and the desire of many Americans to seek information related to a mass shooting. Five years later, Apple has decided that, in the name of countering child pornography, it will throw privacy protection for all its customers out the window.

Article by Adam Dick from Ron Paul Institute.

The company has disclosed that it plans to routinely and without even a basis for suspicion search through its customers’ electronic information in an effort to uncover child pornography or images of child sexual abuse. Further, Apple will then, based on the results of the snooping, disable customers’ accounts and inform the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding what was found.

In 2016, Apple was resisting a court order saying the company must help the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) break into an iPhone tied to Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik who were being investigated for committing a December of 2015 mass shooting from which 14 people died. Then, Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook was speaking strongly in favor of protecting privacy in a situation where many people were inclined to support Apple giving in so a heinous crime could be further investigated and more violence potentially prevented.

At the time, I quoted from a statement by Cook regarding that matter. Included was this comment in defense of freedom:

While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.

Cook also described how much more than the case at hand was at issue. He explained:

The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.

Fast forward five years and Cook is still the CEO of Apple. Yet, Apple is proceeding to create a backdoor into customers’ iPhones information to advance a “good intention” — countering child sexual abuse or child pornography. All the arguments against taking such an action in relation to the mass shooting apply again. Apple’s planned action is an attack on privacy and leads the way to the company using surveillance software for the freedom-threatening variety of actions Cook warned about in 2016.

Apple now is volunteering to create this new surveillance system that will systematically violate the privacy of all its customers. It is preparing to become a full-fledged member of the surveillance state. At least back in 2016 the FBI had to provide evidence and go through a court to try to make Apple help it search for information on a particular phone. The old Apple stood up to that threat to privacy. The new Apple, in contrast, is preparing to surveille all its customers’ information routinely.

You can read here a Thursday report by India McKinney and Erica Portnoy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation regarding this and other snooping on customers’ information that Apple is planning to roll out.

The Dangers of Speaking the Truth Diminish If We Work Together

It’s becoming harder and harder for patriots to ignore the deep suppression of truth that’s happening in America today.

In all of my years in journalism, I have never received as many threats or been attacked by big companies like Google and Facebook as I have in 2021. I’d say that ever since we started covering widespread voter fraud, government-endorsed Pandemic Panic Theater, vaccine cover-ups, Critical Race Theory, and the various Neo-Marxist and Satanic agendas at play, I’ve been targeted more in months than the entirety of my life prior.

Speaking the truth is getting harder with so much censorship and suppression rampant. Prior to 2020, I was not a “conspiracy theorist” or an “anti-vaxxer,” but if there’s one thing the onslaught of exposed lies have taught us in the last 18 months, it’s that we cannot take what we’re told by the “arbiters of truth” at face value. There’s an agenda behind every message, a narrative driving every story, and a series of gigantic cover-ups designed to keep the masses in the dark.

This is why we’re building a network of news outlets that are willing to go against the narrative and expose the truth. We need help. We’re establishing strong partnerships with like-minded news outlets and courageous journalists. Even as Big Tech suppresses us, the honest messages they’re trying to quash are finding their way to the eyes and ears of patriots across the nation. With the help of new content partners like The Epoch Times and The Liberty Daily, we’re starting to see a real impact.

Our network is currently comprised of nine sites:

• NOQ Report
• Conservative Playlist
• Truth. Based. Media.
• Freedom First Network
• Based Underground
• Uncanceled News
• American Conservative Movement
• Conservative Playbook
• Our Gold Guy

Some of our content is spread across all of these sites. Other pieces of content are unique. We write most of what we post but we also draw from those willing to allow us to share their quality articles, videos, and podcasts. We collect the best content from fellow conservative sites that give us permission to republish them. We’re not ego-driven; I’d much rather post a properly attributed story written by experts like Dr. Joseph Mercola or Natural News than rewrite it like so many outlets like to do. We’re not here to take credit. We’re here to spread the truth.

I’ve said much of this before. From time to time I reframe this request for assistance by taking the most relevant message of the day and adjusting the story accordingly. We’ve discussed this network in previous articles. Now, it’s time to talk about help. First and foremost, we need financial assistance detailed below. But we could also use more writers who are willing to volunteer their thoughts for the sake of spreading the message. Those who are interested should contact me directly.

As far as money, we’re looking better than we have in the recent past, but we are currently experiencing a gap between revenue and expenses that cannot be overcome by click-ads and MyPillow promos alone (promo code “NOQ” by the way).

To overcome our revenue gap and keep these sites running, our needs fluctuate between $2200-$7800 per month. May, 2021, for example, was amazing and we almost broke even. June, revenue was sluggish at best and we had to make up a big difference out of our pockets. But we’re not just trying to get out of the red. If and when we start getting enough contributions to expand, we will do just that. Very few get into journalism to try to get rich and we’re definitely not among those who do. Our success is driven by spreading the truth, profitable or not.

The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring proper news and opinions to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal or Bitcoin as well. Bitcoin: 3A1ELVhGgrwrypwTJhPwnaTVGmuqyQrMB8

Time is short. As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going. Our promise is this: We will never sell out America. If that means we’re going to struggle for a while or even indefinitely, so be it. Integrity first. Truth first. America first.

Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker

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