Taking a bite out of Apple isn’t as easy as one may think.

The pivotal debate of national security versus personal liberties is shining its spotlight on revolutionary tech giant Apple because the FBI insists that a “backdoor” be created to peek inside an iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, California terrorist attackers. From 36,000 feet, most Americans support our nation’s security forces doing whatever they can to learn, infiltrate and defeat terrorist cells and networks. And reasonably so. However, when Americans zoom-in from the birds eye view of this complex, serious situation (from a drone in the sky, you could say), the collective damage this individual request poses gives reason to push back.

Precedent is inevitably what’s at stake.

Once a government can legally force the hands of a public company consisting of private citizens to do its bidding, regardless of outspoken reservations and, more bluntly, refusing to perform such a service after careful consideration, the door then swings wide-open for an uncertain expansion of said questionable action.

What kinds of expansions? How will this affect you? Will this security measure definitively makes us safer or will it expose us to a myriad of unforeseen digital invasions?

There will never be a perfect balance between the equitable assets of national security and personal liberties. Each situation needs to be dealt with individually and with a fresh set of eyes with considerations to the past and future, especially in an increasingly connected world/digital grid. Moments will arise when tough security responses must be green-lit with immediacy, as well as difficult scenarios when security officials should practice restraint for the sake of protecting the bigger issue(s) at hand.

Should Tim Cook’s Apple “open” the San Bernardino phone? He says no.

Does co-founder Steve “The Woz” Wozniak think Apple should “open” the San Bernardino phone?

Apple vs. The FBI will directly influence how the United States (and possibly its allies) combat the guerrilla terrorism used by ISIS and similar terrorist networks for the foreseeable future, especially as technology continues to evolve and expand.

The stakes in this dispute are insanely great.