Indicating that the FBI has the means itself, Edward Snowden dismissed claims that only Apple could unlock the San Bernardino shooters iPhone. Speaking via video link from Moscow to the Common Cause Blueprint for a Great Democracy conference, the NSA whistle blower said: “The FBI says Apple has the ‘exclusive technical means’ to unlock the phone. Respectfully, that’s bullshit.” The Guardian reports: Snowden then went on to tweet his support for an American Civil Liberties Union report saying that the FBI’s claims in the case are fraudulent. The global technological consensus is against the FBI. Why? Here’s one example: https://t.co/t2JHOLK8iU#FBIvsApplehttps://t.co/mH1ZXOOQ1E — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 8, 2016 Meanwhile, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in a discussion on Reddit: “I think there needs to be a discussion about when the government should be able to gather information. What if we had never had wiretapping? Also the government needs to talk openly about safeguards.” Gates refused to be drawn on one side or the other of the debate, despite seemingly supporting the FBI and then backtracking. Microsoft later filed an amicus brief backing Apple against the FBI. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also spoke out against the FBI on the Conan O’Brien show [...]