Apple on Thursday appealed a federal court’s order that the company must assist the Federal Bureau of Investigation with breaking into an iPhone, arguing that a “back door” would simply be “too dangerous to build.”
“In short, the government wants to compel Apple to create a crippled and insecure product,” Apple’s attorneys wrote in their filing. “Once the process is created, it provides an avenue for criminals and foreign agents to access millions of iPhones. And once developed for our government, it is only a matter of time before foreign governments demand the same tool.”
“The government says: ‘Just this once’ and ‘Just this phone.’ But the government knows those statements are not true; indeed the government has filed multiple other applications for similar orders, some of which are pending in other courts,” they state.
“Despite the context of this particular action, no legal principle would limit the use of this technology to domestic terrorism cases — but even if such limitations could be imposed, it would only drive our adversaries further underground, using encryption technology made by foreign companies that cannot be conscripted into U.S.,” Apple added.
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Last week, a federal judge ordered the company to create software that would allow the FBI to bypass security on an iPhone 5C used in the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Apple CEO Tim Cook has likened that software to “cancer,” while FBI Director James Comey has warned that his agency is becoming blind to criminal activity.
