Bill Maher Says Apple's Move to Check Phones for Child Porn is Appalling

Bill Maher took a subject that, on the surface, doesn't seem debatable, and he then tore it apart ... Apple announcing it would scan customers' phones for child porn.

The "Real Time" host was incredulous ... calling it a shocking breach of privacy. Mind you, he was not pro child porn, but he said there's a much bigger issue. A phone, he argued, is no different than a wallet or a purse. No one would argue those items are fair game for others to peruse, so what's the different between a wallet and a phone?

He did get something wrong ... he called it a "blatant Constitutional breach" and a violation of the 4th Amendment's guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. Fact is ... that only applies to government intrusions -- not private companies. Nevertheless, we get the point.

Bill then went on to make a larger point ... the damage smart phones do to our society. As he says, "They turn people into assholes."