Apple Plans to Argue the First Amendment Protects Company from Helping FBI

Gates added when it comes to this particular case, he believes the courts should decide whether or not Apple should be forced to hack the phone.

The report noted that Apple would likely seek to invoke the United States’ protections of free speech as one of their key legal arguments in trying to block an order to help unlock the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Apple has resisted cooperating with federal authorities to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings that occurred late previous year. “At stake is the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding people, and setting a risky precedent that threatens everyone’s civil liberties”.

The Pew survey drilled down to smartphone users, who mirrored the overall results of the survey. In a letter to customers last week, Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive, said: “We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected”, saying that the company has “worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this disgusting crime”. Those phones, with operating software designed earlier than the iPhone used in California, allowed Apple to use a physical tool to extract data from them.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently came out in support of Apple, while speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

When asked by Bloomberg to clarify his stand, Bill Gates said that tech was empowering to everyone, even terrorists.

“You don’t want to just take the minute after a terrorist event and swing in that direction nor in general do you want to completely swing away from government access when you get some abuse being revealed”.

“Should governments be able to access information at all or should they be blind, that’s essentially what we are talking about”, he told the BBC.

“What we see too is in the case of a motor vehicle accident or a missing juvenile where the phone has been left behind and their parents are just hoping to hold on to something from that child”, Kelly said. The FBI director says the request is narrow and this investigation is about the victim.

Apple argues this move could set a scary precedent for personal security. Bank records. There is no difference between information.

The post also mentioned that Apple had never unlocked an iPhone thus far, despite court orders.