I think the most important part of this announcement (I cried genuine tears of joy when I read it) is that Apple is committing to give Citizen Lab whatever they need. That kind of internal access to Apple's people and infrastructure is tremendous.
I've never heard anyone but a despot (or vendor to despots) claim anything untoward about Citizen Lab, it sure seems like they're genuine "good" folks. They do great work, and they'll do better with support and access. The announcement makes it sound like Apple is willing to offer similar support to other good actors. I imagine Apple putting the word out will yield a few more.
It raises - again - the question of what we expect from big companies vs governments, and questions of sovereignty. Where's the line between supporting good work and cyber vigilantes (if it's not a thing today, it will be, and what will society's place be with respect to them)?
I've never heard anyone but a despot (or vendor to despots) claim anything untoward about Citizen Lab, it sure seems like they're genuine "good" folks. They do great work, and they'll do better with support and access. The announcement makes it sound like Apple is willing to offer similar support to other good actors. I imagine Apple putting the word out will yield a few more.
It raises - again - the question of what we expect from big companies vs governments, and questions of sovereignty. Where's the line between supporting good work and cyber vigilantes (if it's not a thing today, it will be, and what will society's place be with respect to them)?