eDiscovery Daily Blog
Well, That Didn’t Take Long! Apple v. the US Government Gears Up for Round Two: eDiscovery Trends
When the FBI was able to access the iPhone used by one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino terrorist shooting, effectively ending the six week dispute between Apple and the FBI over privacy and security, we said the battle was over – for now. Apparently, “for now” was the same as “not for long”.
According to re/code (Apple-FBI Encryption Battle Shifts to New York, written by Dawn Chmielewski), the U.S. Attorney’s office notified a federal judge in Brooklyn on Friday that the government plans to press forward with its request to have Apple assist in unlocking a phone seized in a Brooklyn drug case, moving the low-profile case to center stage in the ongoing debate over encryption.
“The government’s application is not moot and the government continues to require Apple’s assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant,” U.S. Attorney Robert Capers wrote to the court.
Apple had requested a delay in the case until it could be determined whether the FBI’s new technique for hacking an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino shooters could also unlock the device in the Brooklyn case.
Back in February, a federal judge ordered Apple to give investigators access to encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, a court order that Apple has fought, accusing the federal government of an “overreach” that could potentially breach the privacy of millions of customers. That same day, Apple CEO Tim Cook published an open letter, pledging to fight the judge’s ruling that it should give FBI investigators access to encrypted data on the device. And, the two sides battled over the issue in court until the FBI was successfully able to access the iPhone on its own toward the end of March.
As many predicted, it was only a matter of time before another dispute with a government agency over Apple security made its way to the courtroom. When that government agency is not able to find a way to access the Apple device and requests assistance from the court, I would expect to see a long drawn-out court battle over the issue – one that privacy and security advocates will undoubtedly continue to debate.
So, what do you think? Is this the case where the true battle between Apple and the US government will be waged? Please share any comments you might have with us or let us know if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
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