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Apple refuses court order to unlock San Bernardino shooter's iPhone

The FBI says Apple needs to cooperate by breaking into Syed Farook's iPhone. Apple says, if they do, it will compromise the security of all its users.
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Apple chief executive Tim Cook says a federal magistrate's order to hack its own users in the investigation of the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings would create a backdoor that could potentially be used on other future devices. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)
As It Happens6:47Apple refuses court order to unlock San Bernardino shooter's iPhone

The Federal Bureau of Investigation wants Apple to help them break into an iPhone that belonged to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre — and now a court in Los Angeles is ordering Apple to cooperate.

But Apple CEO Tim Cook says complying with the FBI would threaten the security of all its customers.

Nate Cardozo, Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Erich Valo Photography/eff.org)

Nate Cordozo of the The Electronic Frontier Foundation agrees.

"Creating a custom piece of software, involuntarily, at the behest of the FBI and signing it using Apple's cryptographic private key, which is what the FBI's demanding in this case, is unprecedented," Cardozo tells As It Happens host Carol Off.

(Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

His nonprofit organization, which defends digital civil liberties, is planning to file an amicus brief supporting Apple's position in court.

"If it's allowed to go forward and be enforced against Apple, nothing limits the FBI from asking for similar opinions going forward," Cardozo warns. "Nothing would prevent law enforcement from requiring technology companies to insert any kind of back door in their product."

This case is not about this particular phone. This case is about the power of the FBI going forward to force companies to compromise our security.- Nate Cardozo, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Cardozo suggests that the FBI is leveraging the tragic events of San Bernardino to set a dangerous precedent.

"They don't really need the information on this device or at least they haven't made a compelling case that they do," Cardozo argues. "They chose this case and they decided to file this motion in public, rather than under seal, because they want the precedent."

U.S.-born husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his spouse, Tashfeen Malik, 29, a native of Pakistan who lived in Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years, died in a shootout with police hours after an attack on a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center social services agency in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles. (FBI/Reuters)

The FBI insists it is necessary to temporarily compromise privacy in this case in order to ensure the public security. But Cardozo dismisses that claim.

"This isn't about security versus privacy. This is about surveillance versus security. The FBI wants Apple to compromise our security to give it a tiny bit more surveillance power — and we should say 'No.'"

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