Brow Beat

John Oliver Made a Brutally Honest Apple Commercial to Explain Its Encryption Battle With the FBI

The FBI’s battle with Apple over encryption might initially seem like an open-and-shut case: It’s crucial for national security that law enforcement should have a way to access information like what’s on the phone of the San Bernardino shooter. But, as John Oliver explained on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, the case isn’t that simple—and in this case, providing a way in for law enforcement has the potential to do way more harm than good.

What follows is the most entertaining explainer yet of this thorny issue, and while Oliver ultimately casts his sympathies with Apple, he isn’t shilling for the tech giant, either. He points out that at any given time they’re only about one panicked step ahead of hackers themselves—something they could be a little more honest about in their charming, flashy commercials. So, of course, Oliver ended the segment with his very own Apple commercial—starring comedian Eugene Mirman, Mad Men’s Rich Sommer, and Jake Lacy (the adorable boyfriend in everything from Girls to Obvious Child), and featuring voiceover narration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Michelle Trachtenberg.

Read more in Slate about the Apple/FBI dispute: