Surveillance Anxiety

Over the past two weeks, the US Justice Department and Apple have been locked in a battle over whether the computer giant will help the FBI's investigation into the San Bernardino terrorist attack by writing software to defeat encryption technology in an iPhone used by one of the shooters.

This debate reveals the public's conflicted feelings over government surveillance, and their trust in Apple as a brand, says branding expert Sasha Strauss. Surveillance has been built into the fabric of our cities for centuries, says architect Peter Zellner. And it's played a major role in science fiction, says pop culture aficionado Eric J. Lawrence.