Monday, July 25, 2016

Apple and FBI Team Up to Bring Down One of the Largest Torrent Sites in the World


Well-known for its superfine technology and exceptionally sophisticated handsets, Apple Inc. is one of the largest computer technology and electronics manufacturing companies in the world. It has provided users with some of the best gadgets we see today, and has grown in the past two decades at a neck break speed. In recent news, it has helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to carry out a crack-down on the owner of one of the largest torrent sites of the world, Artem Vaulin of Kick Ass Torrents, and arrest him in Poland. However, the question which is popping-up, in the minds of many thinkers sitting at the back panel is – why did Apple Inc. help FBI in this case, but not in the one of the San Bernardino shooting? Here is a brief look into why Apple Inc. backed out on the San Bernardino case, even after being ordered by the Law of California.
The Kick Ass Torrent Case:
Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner of one of the largest torrent directories in the world called Kick Ass Torrents, was arrested in Poland, earlier this week. The person was charged with money laundering and copyright infringement. It turns out that Apple Inc. and Facebook provided IP addresses of Vaulin during the investigation. Sources said that Vaulin had an Apple account, which he used to make purchases to two different IP addresses. Almost a week ago, the final location of Vaulin was traced and after a crack-down by FBI and he was arrested in Poland.
The San Bernardino Case:
In 2015, a shooter named Farooq killed 14 people and was on the run. The FBI was tracing the killer for a long period of time, and after finding out that the killer owned an iPhone, the department approached Apple Inc. for help. However, opposing the decision of the Law of California, Apple Inc. refused to help and cited a privacy breach. The CEO said that it would be a backdoor to every iPhone out there and Apple Inc. would never help in creating something which was this dangerous.
What is The Difference? In the San Bernardino Shooting case, Apple Inc. was asked by the Government of the US to hack Farooq’s phone and let FBI know about his whereabouts and his recent activities. However, as there was no financial gain included in the case, Apple Inc. refused to use its resource, and cited privacy breach against a serial killer.
Whereas, if we take a look at the arrest of Kickass Torrent’s owner, it is clearly shown that with the removal of websites which provided pirated movies to the users, Apple Inc. could make a lot of money by selling their products on iTunes and the App Store. Moreover, it was an indirect way of reducing competition, which was being faced by Apple Inc. for a long period of time.
The Bottom Line:
Without any financial gains in the process, the multinational Apple Inc. backed off from the San Bernardino’s shooting case, and denied to help FBI in hacking the iPhone of the shooter. The facts and the figures prove that in order to cut the competition, achieve a greater position in the market and remove pirated movies, so people pay-per-view of each movie, Apple Inc. helped the FBI in catching Artem Vaulin.

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