Apple asks to block court order to help decrypt iPhone

Apple had not been present when that court order was issued.

The Apple response is the latest in the fight over how far the company must go in helping U.S. law enforcement access a device with data locked by encryption that only the user can normally access. But law enforcement pressed on, with a federal court ordering Apple to weaken security so that the FBI could break into the device.

Indeed, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter have all pledged to join a supporting brief, and will reportedly sign a joint amicus brief in support of Apple’s position.

Apple’s motion to vacate the federal court order alleges “rather than pursue new legislation, the government backed away from Congress and turned to the courts, a forum ill-suited to address the myriad competing interests, potential ramifications, and unintended consequences presented by the government’s unprecedented demand”.

The government filing, in sharp contrast to that of Apple, said the order would not require a “back door to every iPhone”. Complying with the request of hacking a dead suspect’s smartphone could leave the company no reason not to hack a live suspect’s iPhone so his location and conversations are monitored. Now, in its latest court filing, Apple reveals the answer.

Apple has always cooperated with the investigative authorities, but officials from the company have said that no court has ever sought to undermine the security of its products and to give personal information on their users to investigating authorities.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has remarked that most of the company’s services don’t rely on ad revenue.

“I love privacy and, when I hear corporations saying “We are going to take you to a world where no one can look at your stuff”, part of me thinks, that’s great, I do not want anyone looking at my stuff, ” said FBI Director, James Comey. On the First Amendment front, forcing Apple to create GovtOS would violate its right to free speech and expression, which in this case is defined by the code that provides encryption on the iPhone and in turn represents the company’s corporate values.

“This case is not about one phone”, Cook explained regarding his company’s decision which was hailed by other tech company CEOs including Google’s Sundar Pichai and Whatsapp President Jan Koum. “But the government knows these statements are not true”, Apple’s legal eagles, led by former USA solicitor general Theodore Olson, wrote, pointing to numerous government requests already on the table, “some of which are pending in other courts”.