Resolution in FBI-Apple case prolongs larger legal battle
SAN FRANCISCO – The FBI’s victory in breaking into a San Bernardino killer’s iPhone without Apple’s help merely prolongs a battle over how far the government can go to examine private messages, photos and other files.
“There’s a clash of values and interests that I think will continue,” said Ed Black, head of Computer and Communications Industry Association.
Federal prosecutors have appealed a court ruling that said Apple doesn’t have to help them extract data from another iPhone in a New York drug case. Speaking in general, the Justice Department said it will continue seeking digital evidence, “either with cooperation from relevant parties or through the court system when cooperation fails.”
After finding its own way to access files on the San Bernardino iPhone, the Justice Department said it no longer needs a court order to force Apple to remove safeguards against guessing that iPhone’s passcode. That means Magistrate Sheri Pym won’t be ruling on a centuries-old law, known as the All Writs Act.
Some in the tech industry worry authorities will try to pursue a smaller company to win a legal precedent that authorities could use to pressure other firms.
“When you’re a company of five people, you don’t have a general counsel’s office. You have a card table that everyone sits and codes at,” said Morgan Reed, executive director of a tech industry group known as ACT.
Although the Justice Department insisted its request for Apple’s help applied only to the San Bernardino iPhone, Apple said having to rewrite its software would make all phones less secure.
Many companies are increasingly using safeguards that put at least some customer data out of their reach. Companies say they’re determined to protect customers’ privacy.
On the flip side, today’s smartphones contain a wealth of information, which authorities can use to prosecute suspects, unravel plots and identify accomplices.
The government’s authority under the All Writs Act remains in dispute. Any decision in the pending New York case will likely be appealed, said Fred Cate, a law professor at the Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research. “There’s no question that will be up in the air until the Supreme Court rules on it.”
In the San Bernardino case, most of Apple’s biggest competitors – including Google, Facebook and Microsoft – filed court briefs on Apple’s behalf.
In a statement this week, the Justice Department said, “It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety.”
Apple responded by saying it will assist law enforcement in at least some ways. But “we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.”