Apple vs. FBI - The Summary Of Events

Last updated: July 5, 2023 Reading time: 3 minutes
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The legal battle between the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  and Apple over accessing the iPhone of San Bernardino’s shooter after the authorities announced they had obtained access to the iPhone through third-party services.

However, the lawsuit triggered a debate between law enforcement agencies and technology firms over data privacy and encryption.

What was the lawsuit about?

A federal judge asked Apple to correspond to the request of the FBI to unblock the iPhone of Syed Farooq, who shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino in December of last year.

The judge directed Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI authorities, which would require Apple to install a backdoor software to crack the iPhone and overhaul the operating system that erases all the data after 10 unsuccessful attempts. But, Apple declined to help the FBI authorities.

The CEO of Apple Tim Cook described the order as “chilling” and that it would require the company to create entirely new software that would compromise the entire security system of the iPhone, the very “fundamental concept” the company stands for. Cook’s concern was that if they create such software, what the guarantee that the FBI won’t use it to breach other iPhones is?