This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

I'm Caleb Brown. Today the federal government was to have met Apple in court as the

Fed seek to compel the company to construct software to defeat its

own encryption.

Republican California Congressman Darrell Isa is part of a new encryption working group in Congress.

Yesterday we spoke about Apple, encryption, and other issues.

In the Apple case, we've had a number of statutes passed that clearly could have envisioned Apple being forced to turn over these codes or make them

available.

We didn't do it.

And so when we had opportunities on legislation that was modern, that was at least could be considered to be aware of

encrypted, encryption technology, we did not take action.

We considered it.

We talked about it.

We didn't do it. And so the idea that the All Ritz Act, a 1790

legislation should be applied is something that I think the courts are going to reject

when it gets to the Ninth Circuit.

But one of my concerns is more basic.

Statutes, whether done by Congress or not, still have to pass the test of the first, fourth, and fifth amendment.

And what they're asking Apple to do, what they demanded that Lava Pitt, I always get that, I'll have to laugh, lava bit.

What they demanded they do is inconsistent with the basic constitutional

principles and that's where you have to look at

I be candid late Justice Scalia when he said more or less that the Constitution

...