– ‘Open Pandora’s Box’ –
It has argued that Apple is not above the law and that its request for technical assistant concerns only Farook’s work phone from the San Bernardino health department.
“It is a narrow, targeted order… The government and the community need to know what is on the terrorist’s phone, and the government needs Apple’s assistance to find out,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in one brief to the court.
Farook and his Pakistani-born wife Tashfeen Malik died in a firefight with police after the attack. Two other cell phones linked to the couple were found destroyed.
Several people who had relatives killed in the attack have filed a brief in support of the FBI saying the contents of Farook’s phone may “explain the motive for this senseless tragedy.”
However, tech giants and civil rights advocates have rallied behind Apple, warning that the case goes beyond just one phone and that if the court sides with the FBI, it would spring open a “Pandora’s Box” for human rights.
“Governments trying to undermine encryption should think twice before they open this Pandora’s Box,” Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty International’s deputy director for global issues, said in a statement.
“Weakening privacy online could have disastrous consequences for free societies, particularly for the human rights activists and journalists who hold our leaders to account.”
Rights advocates also argue that while the FBI’s request to access the data on Farook’s phone may be legitimate, the method of accessing it raises concerns.
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