John Oliver explains the FBI Apple encryption debacle (video)

John Oliver’s take downs are the stuff TV legends are made of. They work, largely, because they are driven by facts. This week saw Oliver taking on encryption in light of the FBI and Apple case. Oliver makes it clear that the matter is not as simple as people want to make it.

“There is no easy side to be on in this debate. Strong encryption has its costs, from protecting terrorists, to drug dealers, to child pornographers. But I happen to feel that the risks of weakening encryption, even a little bit, even just for the government, are potentially much worse.”

The FBI are demanding that Apple create a backdoor access to a phone that belonged to a terrorist but Apple is arguing that such a move opens a can of worms where FBI can request access to every phone of anyone they deem a threat. The case, understandably so, has created tensions between privacy advocates and the FBI.

Oliver’s segment is 18 minutes long, filled with many jokes, but important for gadget and internet users. In the segment, Oliver mentions Telegram, an app that claims to be highly encrypted and as such has attracted a fair amount of users.

There is also in the segment, near its end, a hilarious fake Apple advert.