John Oliver explains the San Bernardino iPhone case so you can finally understand it

In a funny and surprisingly nuanced segment, HBO’s Last Week Tonight host, John Oliver, took on the important but often obtuse fight between Apple and the government over access to an encrypted iPhone in the San Bernardino shooter investigation.

Over the course of 18 minutes, Oliver manages to skewer just about everyone who has anything to do with the issue (even taking a swipe at British accents!). While he generally seems to favor Apple’s side in the case, the monologue offers a pretty good overview of just how difficult the issue has become.

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On one hand, it’s tough to strike a fair balance between our privacy and government’s ability to investigate crimes. And at the same time, lots of governments around the world have no such restrictions and can impose much stricter penalties in requiring companies to fork over individuals’ private information.

Or, as Oliver put it: “Because, as you know, Russia and China have about as much respect for privacy as horny teenagers in 80s comedies.”

So, yeah: