It appears the Department of Justice’s battle against Apple is far from over. In fact, for one case in New York, it’s just getting started.
A new court filing cited by The Wall Street Journal indicates that the DOJ is still planing on requesting that a judge force Apple to unlock a phone tied to a drug investigation. This comes not long after the DOJ dropped its case against Apple in the San Bernardino iPhone case after it found a different method to crack the phone.
Ironically, that’s the argument that Apple’s lawyers are using to suggest why the federal government should be granted a judge’s order to break into the iPhone. The FBI has recently come out and said it only has the ability to crack into certain phones and nothing above a 5c, which was the phone in the San Bernardino case.
Which is why a judge is being asked to bring this to court — in order for the DOJ to get access to data from the iPhone used by a drug dealer.
“The government’s application is not moot, and the government continues to require Apple’s assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant,’’ the prosecutors wrote in a letter filed to U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie, WSJ reported.
Tensions have continued to run high between the tech giant and the FBI since mid-February when Apple opposed the court ruling ordering it to assist the FBI in the agency’s efforts to set up “backdoor” access to the device, a move Apple called “an unprecedented step, which threatens the security of our customers.”
The public, as well as many notable figures, such as Google CEO Sundar Pinchai, retired General Michael Hayden and even PayPal Cofounder Max Levchin, have thrown their support either behind Apple or the government in the controversial case.
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