Page 5 - Aruba Today
P. 5
U.S. NEWS A5
Wednesday 24 February
Apple to tell judge Congress must decide on encryption
TAMI ABDOLLAH “The government is really FBI Director James Comey is seen in Arlington, Va. Apple Inc.
Associated Press seeking to push the courts will tell a federal judge this week in legal papers that its fight with
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ap- to do what they haven’t the FBI over iPhone encryption should be decided by Congress,
ple Inc. will tell a federal been able to persuade not by courts, The Associated Press has learned.
judge this week in legal pa- Congress to do,” Boutrous
pers that its fight with the said in an AP interview. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FBI over iPhone encryption “That’s to give it more
should be decided by Con- broad, sweeping authority scribed Apple’s arguments made similar demands
gress, not by courts, The As- to help the Department of as strong and said the issue upon them, the European
sociated Press has learned. Justice hack into devices, has broad implications. Union has made similar de-
Apple will also argue that to have a back door into “We are not the only ones mands upon them, so the
the Obama administra- devices, and the law sim- who are asking for encryp- implications are really not
tion’s request to help it ply does not provide that tion keys,” he said. “The even national. They’re in-
hack into an iPhone in a authority.” Chinese government has ternational in scope.”q
terrorism case is improper The White House spokes-
under an 18th century law, man, Josh Earnest, this
the 1789 All Writs Act, which week disputed that Con-
has been used to compel gress should settle the is-
companies to provide as- sue. Earnest said the mag-
sistance to law enforce- istrate judge “came down
ment in investigations. in favor of our law enforce-
A lead attorney for Apple, ment” after evaluating ar-
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., guments by Apple and the
previewed for the AP some FBI. Apple hasn’t yet made
of the company’s upcom- any filings in the case be-
ing arguments in the case. cause the Justice Depart-
Apple’s chief executive, ment asked the magistrate
Tim Cook, has also hinted to rule before Apple had
at the company’s court- an opportunity to object.
room strategy. “Sending complicated
Apple’s effort would move things to Congress is often
the contentious policy de- not the surest way to get
bate between digital pri- a quick answer,” Earnest
vacy rights and national se- said. “In fact, even ask-
curity interests to Congress, ing some of the most ba-
where Apple — one of the sic questions of Congress
world’s most respected sometimes does not ensure
technology companies — a quick answer.”
wields considerably more Apple intends to argue
influence. Apple spent that the 1789 law has nev-
nearly $5 million lobbying er been used to compel a
Congress last year, mostly company to write software
on tax and copyright issues. to help the government.
Key lawmakers have been Michael Zweiback, the
openly divided about former chief of the cyber-
whether the government’s crimes section of the U.S.
demands in the case go Attorney’s Office in Los An-
too far. geles, said it was highly un-
Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym usual for the U.S. to ask Ap-
in California ordered Apple ple to give the FBI special-
last week to create spe- ized software that would
cialized software to help weaken the digital locks on
the FBI hack into a locked, the iPhone.
county-issued iPhone used “There’s a significant legal
by a gunman in the mass question as to whether the
shootings last December in All Writs Act can be used to
San Bernardino, California. order a company to cre-
Syed Farook and his wife, ate something that may
Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 not presently exist,” Zwei-
people at an office holiday back said. He said as a
party in an attack at least former prosecutor he was
partly inspired by the Islam- sympathetic to the govern-
ic State group. ment’s case, but he de-
