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.”

Watch … it’s interesting.