US: Why the LGBT community needs to support Apple's battle against the Feds

Last week, the U.S. government revealed that Apple refused a request by the FBI to unlock the iPhone carried by one of the San Bernardino shooters. Following this revelation, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that requiring the company to create a bypass to the phone would set a dangerous precedent and would undermine the security of all such mobile devices.

During my time working for the Army, I lived a "double life" under the military's don't ask, don't tell ban as a closeted trans woman in a relationship with a man. Living under the ban, I regularly used encryption to shield my personal information on my laptop and mobile devices from colleagues living in close quarters. However, things could have been even more high stakes for me. If I were a closeted trans woman, while living and working in less open countries—such as Russia, Uganda, and Nigeria—I could face imprisonment, torture, and even death, if exposed. This is why queer and trans people living in such countries now use encrypted devices, such as Apple's iPhone 5C, to build and maintain its communities while avoiding the dangerous scrutiny of others.

Now, as the U.S. government seeks a novel judicial bac door to one phone, all of our encrypted data on most of our mobile devices and personal computers could be compromised by adversaries of queer and trans people who seek to cause us harm.  Read more via Advocate

Apple launches new App Store section showcasing LGBT content to commemorate 1969 Stonewall riots

In the featured  App Store section, Apple is highlighting apps, movies, music, TV, podcasts, and books that represent the LGBT community. Selections include Milk, a 2008 drama based during the 1970s push for gay liberation, the HBO film The Normal Heart, the drama Brokeback Mountain, music from artists like Adam Lambert, Sam Smith, and Neon Trees, and various other TV shows, podcasts, books, music, movies, magazines, and apps. Read More

Apple unveils racially diverse emoji in 5 skin tones and same-sex couples

Apple is adding racially diverse emoji to its OS X desktop operating system.

The software's emoji keyboard will include characters in five skin tones based on the Fitzpatrick scale, a recognised standard used by dermatologists that moves the icons away from previously much-derided racial stereotypes. Read More

Steve Jobs memorial torn down in Russia after current Apple CEO Tim Cook comes out as gay

A Russian group of companies ordered the destruction of a memorial tribute to late Apple founder Steve Jobs after the technology giant’s current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay last week.

ZEFS, which originally had the six-foot monument in the shape of an iPhone erected outside a college in St Petersburg in January to pay homage to the achievements of Jobs following his death from cancer in 2011, has since taken the decision to dismantle it: “After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values.” Read More