Apple has issued a public response after the U.S. government dropped its lawsuit demanding the company’s assistance in hacking into a terrorist’s iPhone, with the company saying it will continue to aid law enforcement while also continuing to increase the security of its products. “From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent,” Apple said.
“As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.”
But as Apple declares partial victory in its fight against what it considers government overreach, the underlying issue is far from settled. The Justice Department is appealing a ruling that prevented the government from compelling Apple’s cooperation in a similar case, so use of the vague All Writs Act to force the company to build a backdoor for the government to access its devices could potentially still be upheld by a higher court.
Apple showed no signs of backing down as that debate continues, saying the company “believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.” The company is rumored to be working on much stronger encryption for both iOS and iCloud in response to the increase in government pressure to surrender user data.
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