--- title: Apple-FBI Fight: Code Is Free Speech description: The FBI should not force Apple to violate its beliefs canonical: https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/ author: Cindy Cohn article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-17T11:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:06.679Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Apple-FBI Fight: Code Is Free Speech og:description: The FBI should not force Apple to violate its beliefs og:url: https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29bba5395f6b3fec/698889ff0a4a22a5c89c8b63/iphone_security_code.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4712 og:image:height: 2651 og:image:alt: Apple Encryption Q&A og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Apple-FBI Fight: Code Is Free Speech twitter:description: The FBI should not force Apple to violate its beliefs twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29bba5395f6b3fec/698889ff0a4a22a5c89c8b63/iphone_security_code.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Code Is Free Speech > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=ddfad687-1d4b-474a-b378-59b8f6b696e5&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=ddfad687-1d4b-474a-b378-59b8f6b696e5&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=ddfad687-1d4b-474a-b378-59b8f6b696e5&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Watch: What You Need to Know on Apple & The FBI [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: What You Need to Know on Apple & The FBI](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QQJktAKR.m3u8) (1:45)  _Published 2016-03-08. Alex Fitzpatrick tells you what you need to know about the latest Apple controversy_ by [Cindy Cohn](https://time.com/author/cindy-cohn/) ## Cindy Cohn Mar 17, 2016 11:00 AM UTC  An iPhone is seen in Washington, Feb. 17, 2016. An iPhone is seen in Washington, Feb. 17, 2016. Carolyn Kaster—AP by [Cindy Cohn](https://time.com/author/cindy-cohn/) ## Cindy Cohn Mar 17, 2016 11:00 AM UTC It would never be OK for a judge to require you to sign a petition or a letter disavowing your views. Whether you believe that the country would be better off if everyone had a gun, or if guns were banned, no warrant could require you to sign a letter to the contrary. The First Amendment simply doesn’t allow the government to force you to become a hypocrite, or to substitute the views of a judge, a prosecutor or others in the place of your own. But that’s what the FBI is trying to make Apple do. In order to help the FBI access an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino attacks, it wants to force Apple to write and sign its name on code that Apple believes would be profoundly dangerous for all of us who increasingly need to trust that smartphones and other digital devices are secure. The question in this case is a key part of a raging political and technological debate. At its heart is whether we should have real security on our phones, laptops and tablets (and items including refrigerators, cars and home thermostats that are connected to the Internet), or whether the security we rely on to protect us against criminals, foreign governments and spies should be undermined so that the government has guaranteed access. The FBI seems to say that when smartphone security gets in its way, that security has to go. But we know that if security goes away when the FBI wants it to, we’ll be much more vulnerable to the bad guys, too. There’s no way around that. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been fighting for digital privacy rights and security for users for more than 25 years. We oppose the FBI because the kinds of “backdoors” and other security compromises that it seeks to have Apple create in this case cannot be limited by law or technology to a single phone. Instead, this request would undermine security and privacy for millions of people in the U.S. and around the world. It would also set a legal precedent that could be used again and again, by governments far less trustworthy than our own, to require backdoors for any device. Apple has taken the strong position that true security—that neither Apple nor anyone else can break–is necessary to protect its users’ personal data and keep it safe from hackers and criminals. The ongoing cybersecurity struggles to protect our phones and stored information from criminals of all stripes demonstrates that their position is correct. It has implemented those beliefs in the actual security it has built into the iPhone, including the requirement that no code will run on the phones unless it has Apple’s specific endorsement, via a digital signature. Apple CEO Tim Cook told users in a [letter](http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/): “It would be wrong to intentionally weaken our products with a government-ordered backdoor. If we lose control of our data, we put both our privacy and our safety at risk.” The FBI wants Apple to write and sign code that is diametrically opposed to this belief. Just like forcing Apple to sign a document disavowing its position on guns, Apple would be required to sign code that undermines the security it has promised to its customers and believes—rightly—is vital. The Supreme Court has rejected requirements that people put [“Live Free or Die” on their license plates](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1976/75-1453) or sign [loyalty oaths](http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file%5Fid=5200), and it has said that the government cannot compel a private parade to include views that organizers disagree with. That the signature and code in the Apple case are implemented via technology and computer languages rather than English makes no difference. For nearly 20 years in cases pioneered by EFF, the courts have recognized that writing computer code is protected by the First Amendment. In a [brief](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/02/eff-support-apple-encryption-battle) from EFF and leading technology experts, we have told the court considering Apple’s case that forcing the company to write and sign a new operating system for the government is akin to the FBI dictating a letter endorsing backdoors and forcing Apple to sign its forgery-proof name at the bottom. Our system rightly requires that companies like Apple provide relevant evidence in their custody, and Apple has done that. But it doesn’t allow the FBI to force Apple to become a hypocrite by writing and signing code that sends the message that backdoors, which will cripple security and endanger the privacy of millions of people around the world, are OK. They are not. They are incredibly dangerous, and forcing Apple to create and endorse them is not only counter to the strong security that all of us need; it also violates the First Amendment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/"},"headline":"Code Is Free Speech","datePublished":"2016-03-17T11:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:06.679Z","description":"The FBI should not force Apple to violate its beliefs","url":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/","keywords":["Tech","Law"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29bba5395f6b3fec/698889ff0a4a22a5c89c8b63/iphone_security_code.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cindy Cohn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cindy-cohn/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29bba5395f6b3fec/698889ff0a4a22a5c89c8b63/iphone_security_code.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Encryption Q&A","caption":"Apple Encryption Q&A","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/","name":"Code Is Free Speech"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: What You Need to Know on Apple & The FBI","description":"Alex Fitzpatrick tells you what you need to know about the latest Apple controversy","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QQJktAKR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-08T22:13:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QQJktAKR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/","duration":"PT1M45S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4248928/code-is-free-speech/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```