Google will back Apple in court against the FBI

After a court ordered Apple to help federal investigators get into an encrypted iPhone, the company responded with a court filing Thursday that describes the FBI-requested order as illegal, unconstitutional and unsafe.

The row between Apple and the FBI blew up last week when the bureau asked the electronics firm for help to unlock the smartphone of Syed Rizwan Farook – who along with his wife killed 14 people in December 2015. As soon as news of the court’s order broke last week, state and local officials publicly said they planned to use the new software to open hundreds of other seized devices. There are many that do not understand why Apple is fighting the government on this.

In court papers Apple says law enforcement authorities are seeking “dangerous powers” and the move violates its constitutional rights. But, sure, a decision by a judge – the judge weighing a decision in Brooklyn right now – all those decisions will guide how other courts handle similar requests.

“I love privacy and, when I hear corporations saying “We are going to take you to a world where no one can look at your stuff”, part of me thinks, that’s great, I do not want anyone looking at my stuff, ” said FBI Director, James Comey. So they’ve asked Apple to develop software they could load on the phone to let them hook up a computer program that would guess the password without the risk of deletion.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are all said to be working on a joint brief aimed at showing their support for Apple. “It should be resolved by the American people”, Comey said.

Gates said the government’s request of Apple is no different from asking for data from phone companies or banks. The government itself fell prey to foreign hackers, who breached Office of Personnel Management databases and gained access to personnel records affecting over 22 million current and formal federal workers, the company noted.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion with the court on February 19 to compel Apple to comply with the judge’s order, noting that the company had been cooperative and alleging that its recent refusal “appears to be based on its concerns for its business model and public brand marketing strategy”.

The hearing called by the House Judiciary Committee for next Tuesday will be the first in Congress since Apple said it would challenge a court order to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. “This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information”.