苹果公司“最受尊敬的挑战”

《财富》杂志最新公布了“2016年全球最受赞赏公司全明星排行榜”。该排名基于光辉国际合益集团（Korn Ferry Hay Group）的商业领袖调查结果。苹果公司再次荣登榜首。

今年排行榜出炉之际可谓恰遇“尖峰时刻”。本周，苹果决定对其享誉全球的声誉进行终极测试，将与美国政府就旗下智能手机加密问题对簿公堂，我的同事Geoff Colvin把这称之为一场史诗般的战斗，这样的形容毫不为过。

美国政府慎重地选择了针对苹果的案件，要求苹果公司对去年加州枪击案主犯法鲁克（RizwanFarook）使用的iPhone 5C手机进行解锁。法鲁克与妻子当天在加州圣伯纳迪诺（San Bernadino）的一个假日派对上向人群开火，导致14人丧生，22人受伤。面对这样一宗案件，谁又敢拒不提供证据呢？对于苹果公司在这一事件上的态度，美国总统候选人唐纳德•特朗普（Donald Trump）称其为“可耻”，特朗普证明他对公众的情绪有着正确的感知。

库克则认为，这并非只是一个商业问题，而是事关基本政治权利的问题。库克组建了一支由泰德•奥尔森（Ted Olson）和泰德•鲍特罗斯（Ted Boutrous）组成的律师团队，前者是公民联合会（Citizens United）诉竞选资金法案案件的胜诉方律师，后者时常出任媒体组织的辩护律师。库克的这一行动表明，他将以软件加密受宪法第一修正案保障言论自由的条款保护而抗辩。而凭借这一论据，这场官司可能会一路打到最高法院——或许会在明年，而届时已故大法官安东宁•斯卡利亚（Antonin Scalia）的继任者可能会影响判决的结果。

在这场诉讼大战中，脸书（Facebook）、推特（Twitter）和谷歌（Google）等硅谷科技公司则力挺苹果。而执法部门和情报界则步伐一致地站在另一边。曼哈顿地区检察官勒斯•万斯（Cyrus Vance）表示，目前他有175台苹果设备无法在刑事侦查中进行数据读取。美国参议院情报委员会（Senate Intelligence Committee）主席理查德•伯顿（Richard Burton）则已提议通过立法对拒绝解密加密信息的企业施以刑事处罚。

苹果以及库克的威望和声誉能否在这场战斗中幸免？就像美国圣伯纳迪诺枪击案一样，外部事件将成为决定性的因素。这是一场值得诸位拭目以待的诉讼大战。(财富中文网)

译者：郑立飞

FORTUNE unveils its list of the World's Most Admired Companies, based on surveys of business leaders conducted by Korn Ferry Hay Group. Top of the list: Apple.

The release comes at a critical moment. Apple this week decided to put its vaunted reputation to the ultimate test, launching what my colleague Geoff Colvin correctly calls an epic battle with the U.S. government over the encryption of its smart phones.

The government has chosen its test case wisely. It is asking Apple to unlock the iPhone 5C used by RizwanFarook who, along with his wife, slaughtered 14 people and wounded 22 others at a holiday party in San Bernadino. Who would dare withhold evidence in such a case? Donald Trump calls Apple's stance "disgraceful," and Trump has proven that he has a good sense of the public mood.

Cook is arguing that this is not just a business issue, but one of fundamental political rights. He is building a legal team - Ted Olsen, who won the Citizens United case that struck down campaign finance laws, and Ted Boutrous, who frequently represents media organizations - that suggests he is going to argue encrypted software is protected by the First Amendment's right of free speech. That's an argument that could make its way to the Supreme Court - perhaps reaching it next year, when Antonin Scalia's replacement may swing the balance.

Silicon Valley companies - Facebook, Twitter, Google - are lining up behind Apple in this fight. But the law enforcement and intelligence communities are in lockstep on the other side. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said yesterday he now has 175 Apple devices he can't access in criminal investigations. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burton has proposed legislation that would impose criminal penalties on companies that refuse to unscramble encrypted messages.

Can Apple's - and Cook's - vaunted reputations survive this battle? External events - like the shooting in San Bernadino - will matter. This is a big one that bears close watching.