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 Apple's position was laid out in a brief filed late Monday, after a
federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn, New York, sought its input as
he weighed a U.S. Justice Department request to force the company to
help authorities access a seized iPhone during an investigation.
In court papers, Apple said that for the 90 percent of its devices
running iOS 8 or higher, granting the Justice Department's request
"would be impossible to perform" after it strengthened encryption
methods.
Those devices include a feature that prevents anyone without the
device's passcode from accessing its data, including Apple itself.
The feature was adopted in 2014 amid heightened privacy concerns
following leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward
Snowden about NSA surveillance programs.
Apple told U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein it could access the
10 percent of its devices that continue to use older systems,
including the one at issue in the case. But it urged the judge to
not require it to comply with the Justice Department's request.
"Forcing Apple to extract data in this case, absent clear legal
authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its
customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand," Apple's
lawyers wrote.
A spokeswoman for Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers, whose office
is handling the case, declined comment.
Earlier this month, Orenstein expressed skepticism about whether he
could require Apple to disable security on the iPhone, citing
Congress' failure to act on the issue of encryption despite the
urging of the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
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Orenstein deferred ruling until Apple had a chance to say if it was
"technically feasible and, if so, whether compliance with the
proposed order would be unduly burdensome."
Apple in its brief said it limited its views to those questions
rather than the broader legal issue at hand, which it called
"important." In an order Tuesday, Orenstein invited Apple to address
that issue. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
The case is In re Order requiring Apple, Inc to assist in the
execution of a search warrant issued by the court, U.S. District
Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 15-mc-01902.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy
and Michael Perry)
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