US can’t force Apple to hack iPhone, court rules

A federal magistrate-judge in New York City has ruled that the US government cannot force Apple to hack an iPhone to facilitate the investigation of a known drug dealer.

The court ruling is a big one for Apple, which is currently being asked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to create a “back door” into an iPhone belonging to a known terrorist.

According to CNNMoney, there are at least 13 instances across the US, but Apple says doing the federal government’s bidding would undermine the security features in hundreds of millions of iPhones around the world.

James Orenstein, the New York City magistrate-judge, said federal investigators cannot use the All Writs Act, passed in 1789, which give judges broad discretion, to make Apple create a back door.

“The US government’s argument doesn’t justify imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the government’s investigation against its will,” the judge wrote.

Orenstein said law enforcement is inappropriately trying to use powers that it hasn’t been given by Congress.

“The question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device,” Orenstein wrote.

“It is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come. … I conclude that it does not.”

The department of justice claims “Apple only changed course when the government’s application for assistance was made public by the court,” saying Apple is being inconsistent and merely doing this to save face and seem protective of customers’ privacy.

“This phone may contain evidence that will assist us in an active criminal investigation and we will continue to use the judicial system in our attempt to obtain it,” the department said.

American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Alex Abdo called the ruling “a victory for privacy, security, and common sense.”

In the well-publicized case involving the FBI and the one of the San Bernardino shooters, Apple is arguing the US government can’t force it to write code, as affirmed by the court.