Apple Urges Court To ‘Zealously Guard Civil Liberties’
Apple ( AAPL ) late Tuesday urged a federal judge to side with civil liberties when it reconsiders an FBI demand to force Apple to hack its iPhone security software. Apple filed its last scheduled legal brief before next Tuesday’s federal court hearing over unlocking an iPhone that belonged to deceased San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Farook. In its brief, Apple acknowledged that the case is “in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy.” “But it is in just such highly charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching,” Apple’s lawyers wrote. “This court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order.” Apple said the Justice Department and the FBI are asking the court to force Apple to resolve a policy and political issue that is dividing Congress and agencies of the executive branch. “The Justice Department and FBI argue that this court must decide the issue in a vacuum, without regard to either the swirling national debate about mandating a back door or the dangers to the security and privacy of millions of citizens posed by the relief they seek on behalf of the United States,” Apple’s lawyers wrote. Apple maintains that the All Writs Act can’t be used as “an all-powerful magic wand” to authorize such orders. Forcing Apple to create new software that degrades its device security is “unprecedented” and would have dangerous consequences, Apple says. It would violate the company’s First Amendment rights against compelled speech. “The government’s position has sweeping implications,” Apple’s attorneys wrote. “Under the government’s view, the state could force an artist to paint a poster, a singer to perform a song or an author to write a book, so long as its purpose was to achieve some permissible end, whether increasing military enrollment or promoting public health.” Apple is asking U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym to vacate her Feb. 16 order that Apple assist the FBI in unlocking Farook’s iPhone. The parties will meet in federal court in Riverside, Calif., next Tuesday to argue the case. The case has fueled a debate over smartphone encryption, which has pitted Silicon Valley and civil rights groups against the federal government and law enforcement agencies. Companies supporting Apple’s position include Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). RELATED: Apple-FBI Feud Over iPhone Encryption Turns Ugly .