Talk is cheap and these internet posts - from Tim Cooke, you, and me - are just talk. The security of this nation depends on Apple (and Google et. seq.) supporting us with its dollars as much as possible.

And I'm not optimistic that the stockholders care about anything more than doing the opposite.

Talk is not cheap when you have to back up such talk with a substantial legal defence.

And any stockholder with an ounce of intelligence will understand that Apple's choices here are both morally right and effective marketing. As the information age matures, privacy is becoming a valuable asset, and Apple is starting to gain a positive reputation in this space.

Totally agree. As someone who is currently an Android fan, I find that Apple's apparent commitment to privacy is appealing, and it could eventually mean I buy an iPhone. Assuming I'm not the only consumer who has made this connection, then Apple has very legitimate business reasons for continuing to trumpet their commitment to privacy.

>And I'm not optimistic that the stockholders care about anything more than doing the opposite

AAPL is one of the most mainstream, widely-held stocks on the planet. Assumptions about the opinion of some homogeneous "stockholder" are useless.

I'm positive HN is filled to the brim with AAPL shareholders who care deeply about this issue.

Some people already complain that the iPhone is too expensive, especially compared to non-equal Android phones. Not enough people complain about any company not fighting for their user's security.

Talk is all we need so far. Publicly saying no to the FBI is a step rarely taken.

I am but one data point, but I recently had opportunity as a stockholder in a fund to cast a vote on a shareholder led proposition. Voting in favour of the proposition would have removed a set of investment choices that the fund managers could pursue on our behalf. The fund managers (I forget the exact terminology of what they were - maybe the word "board" was used) recommended that shareholders voted against.

I voted for, and to my surprise so did a majority of other stockholders, and that avenue of opportunities was removed.