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The Law Blogger is a law-related blog that informs and discusses current matters of legal interest to readers of The Oakland Press and to consumers of legal services in the community. We hope readers will  find it entertaining but also informative. The Law Blogger does not, however, impart legal advice, as only attorneys are licensed to provide legal counsel.
For more information email: tflynn@clarkstonlegal.com

Friday, March 25, 2016

March is Amicus Month in the iPhone Case

Maybe the FBI should have tried harder to get into the iPhone taken from the dead terrorist in the San Bernardino shooting prior to going to federal court for an injunction. Once they filed in the Central District of California, the case gained traction from tech companies the world over.

March was amicus month for this case with the list of briefs crowding the register of actions. Here are some of the companies seeking to weigh-in on the case: Facebook and Google [of course], Amazon, Yahoo, Cisco, Snapchat, Twitter, Mozilla, and WhatsApp to name but a few.

Meanwhile, the FBI has re-thought its strategy, apparently coming-up with some highly skilled tech assistance to hack into the terrorist iPhone instead of trying to force Apple to do so via federal court injunction.

The obvious downside is that, if they do not get it right on the first try, the sophisticated encryption technology includes a self-destruct function which would render the data lost forever, along with any clues to existing terrorist cells or contacts.

With all the attention drawn to the ubiquitous iPhone device and it user-friendly technology, the FBI has received some leads from disparate third-party sources as to how to open an iPhone. FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr. provided details in a letter to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.

We here at the Law Blogger believe there has to be someone outside Cupertino that can crack one of those confounded devices for the feds. Then we don't need a federal judge ordering the manufacturer to violate its corporate mission relative to the privacy of its customers.

Problem solved...right? We'll see.

For now, the FBI's hopes in this regard were sufficient to persuade Judge Sheri Pym to adjourn the hearing on Apple's objections to the injunction ordering the company to cooperate with the feds to gain access to the terrorist's device.

Post #532

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