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posted by cmn32480 on Monday November 02 2015, @11:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the Apple-standing-up-for-freedom dept.

From ArsTechnica:

Federal prosecutors have said that they are moving forward in their attempt to compel Apple to unlock a seized iPhone 5S running iOS 7, even after the defendant in a felony drug case has now pleaded guilty.

The judge in the case, United States Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, said in a Friday court filing that he is confused.

...

If Feng's phone had iOS 8 or later installed—as 90 percent of iPhones do—this entire issue would likely be moot, as Apple now enables full encryption by default. In September 2014, Apple specifically said the move happened "so it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Citing an 18th-century law known as the All Writs Act, federal prosecutors had gone to the judge, asking him to force Apple to unlock the phone. At its core, this federal law simply allows courts to issue a writ, or order, which compels a person or company to do something.

In the past, feds have used this law to compel unnamed smartphone manufacturers to bypass security measures for phones involved in legal cases. The government has previously tried using this same legal justification against Apple as well.

However, for the first time, the judge invited Apple into the courtroom to present arguments as to why the judge should not order it to comply. Apple has made a compelling argument as to why it should not be forced to do the government's bidding.

"The government's proffered reading of the All Writs Act, if carried to its logical conclusion, leads to disquieting results," Ken Dreifach, an attorney representing Apple, wrote in his reply to the government earlier this month.

"For example, if the government wanted to crack a safe, it could require the safe's manufacturer to take possession of, or even travel to the location of, that safe and open it," he continued. "If the government wanted to examine a car, it could send the car to the manufacturer and require the manufacturer to perform the examination. The government could seemingly co-opt any private company it wanted to provide services in support of law enforcement activity, as long as the underlying activity was authorized by a warrant. The All Writs Act does not confer such limitless authority."


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Tuesday November 03 2015, @01:28AM

    by edIII (791) on Tuesday November 03 2015, @01:28AM (#257775)

    Tin foil hats?

    What's unprecedented is the level of stupidity and malice. A prosecutor seeking information to help his criminal case is boringly normal. I agree with you; who cares right? A prosecutor who demands that Subway reform the exact sandwich that the defendant ate, not another one, but that *exact* sandwich, is a fucking idiot. Next they will demand Sea World obtain the exact drop of ocean water for some reason.

    That's the level of stupidity here, and why is it news? The federal prosecutors won't stop. They've been informed already, that it is technically, scientifically, logically, and nearly mathematically impossible, under any conditions, for any company, or for any person, to crack the encryption on that defendant's phone. I understand they can be mad about it, but to continue to insanely demand it be produced is just pure harassment, and hence the malice. They need to get over it, and in a rational way, pursue Apple in Congress with laws designed to make that encryption process illegal. This particular case though, is over .

    Instead of that, federal prosecutors wish to use an obscure legal method to "force Apple technicians to come to the room and just do what the fuck we tell them to do". Well that is concerning when what is being asked could never be reasonably delivered. You know where I remember seeing shit like this? Military school. Some man yelling at you because "your ass is mine maggot" and informing you that you get the privilege of the impossible task. Not because the task needs to get done, not because it can be done, but just because of what it does to you when you attempt to perform it.

    Apple is correct here. Were the judge to give in to these insane demands, federal prosecutors could literally abduct Apple employees and keep them in rooms for hours at a time..... getting the same answer. "Uhhh, no. The answer is the same it was at 9am when I got here. I can't crack the encryption. Can I get lunch please?". Do they compensate Apple for the time? Nope.

    That's what this basically is. Federal prosecutors being willfully ignorant of the facts to browbeat Apple employees to perform that which could never be performed. How long do they get to "call Apple's bluff" before the courts finally force them to accept the truth: That defendant's phone is locked beyond their reach completely.

    Since failure is actually guaranteed on a permanent basis, it effectively becomes a financial fine and burden upon Apple to continuously provide their resources to spin their wills against insurmountable odds.

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  • (Score: 1, Troll) by TheGratefulNet on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:10AM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:10AM (#257808)

    the government is the 'perfect bully'.

    is this what we want from our government?

    right - it stopped being OUR government decades ago. now, they don't even pretend, anymore.

    how much deeper are we going to go before we smarten up and reverse course? we USED to be a shining example of freedom and countries across the world mostly looked up to us.

    now, we're a laughing stock. it makes me sad to see our reputation ruined like this, all for political power-grab reasons.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:14AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2015, @04:14AM (#257810)

    You do know apple have a master key for this version of the software...
    If you had spent a tenth as much time understanding the situation as you did on your silly rant, you would have realized it was a pointless waste of time.