Apple, Justice Dept. extend fight over iPhone privacy vs. national security

Justice attorneys made the accusation in a motion filed Friday to compel Apple to immediately comply with an earlier court order that has to do with the cellphone that belonged to deceased gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. Investigators are seeking access to data on the phone to piece together more information about the Dec. 2 terrorist attack that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California.

 

In the motion, attorneys deconstructed concerns that Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed about the court order in an open letter published on the company’s website, noting that the company “did not assert that it lacks the technical capability to execute the Order, that it is not essential to gaining access into the iPhone, or that it would be too time- or labor-intensive.”

 

Instead, it noted that Apple’s opposition stems from “a perceived negative impact on its reputation and marketing strategy were it to provide the ordered assistance to the government.”

 

Apple has indicated that it will challenge the ruling, which would require the tech company to provide technical assistance to the FBI so that agents could attempt to break the four-digit password that protects the work-issued cellphone belonging to Farook.

 

Read More: Apple, Justice Dept. extend fight over iPhone privacy vs. national security – Washington Times