Apple to tell judge in California case: Congress must decide

Apple is fighting against a court order to unlock one iPhone for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Today, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a prominent First Amendment lawyer who’s a lead attorney for Apple in the case, tells the AP that the company will tell the judge that the issue shouldn’t be decided by the courts but by Congress. 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 terrible crime”.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admonished Apple’s CEO for refusing to comply with a court order to help USA security agencies “hack” the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, putting the billionaire at odds with most of Silicone Valley. Apple says it has opposed seven of the nine requests and is awaiting more details on two USA demands. The justice department on Friday filed a motion seeking to compel Apple to comply with a judge’s order to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, portraying the tech giant’s refusal as a “marketing strategy”. The details of the cases aren’t clear because they haven’t been made public, but the WSJ’s sources say they have nothing to do with terrorism. “They are waiting for a high court to make clear what they should do”, Gates said in the interview.

It also called for the U.S. government to set up a government panel on encryption to look into the ways law enforcement can ask for access to data.

In an interview with Bloomberg Business Tuesday, the tech mogul said he was disappointed in articles that inaccurately reference a sit-down he had with The Financial Times.

Not long after Comey’s request, Cook emailed Apple employees to explain why Apple is opposing the government’s request for help, which is now being mulled by a federal court. The All Writs Act is a 227-year old law that mandates third parties to help authorities in investigations – the All Writs Act is seen as a last course of action in most cases.

“The only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool isn’t abused and doesn’t fall into the wrong hands is to never create it”, Apple said.

In case you haven’t head, we are in a war on terror. “That’s it. We don’t want to break anyone’s encryption or set a master key loose on the land”.

“They were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why, how this could happen”, Larson said.