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Reactions to the Apple-FBI Clash in the San Bernardino Case

<p>Apple CFR Cyber Net Politics Back Doors Encryption</p>
Apple CFR Cyber Net Politics Back Doors Encryption

By experts and staff

Published

Experts

  • By Adam Segal
    Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program

Much has been written in the past forty-eight hours on Apple’s refusal to comply with a federal order to assist the FBI access the encrypted contents on a iPhone 5C owned by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the deceased perpetrators of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

Here’s a quick recap of the events to bring you up to speed:

On February 16, a federal magistrate in California ordered Apple to assist the FBI unlock and decrypt Farook’s phone. In siding with the U.S. government, the magistrate accepted the Department of Justice’s interpretation of the All Writs Act, a 200-year old law that allows courts to compel a person to do anything to comply with an order. Specifically, the FBI is looking for Apple to develop a software that will:

On February 17, Apple published an open letter vowing to oppose the order on two grounds:

Here are some of the reactions in the...

Technical community:

Tech companies:

Think tank community:

Political establishment:

2016 campaign:

Newspaper editorials:

We’ll keep this post updated with any additional reactions that we see.