Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and others unite to support Apple in its court case against the DoJ

[midian182]

Rivalry between massive technology firms can be pretty extreme at times, with many of them launching lawsuits against each other on a regular basis, so it’s rare for big companies to show support for their competitors. But nothing has united the tech community quite like Apple’s battle with the Department of Justice .

Now, it’s been revealed that several of these companies are planning to do more than just lend their vocal backing; Alphabet, Facebook, and Microsoft, along with several others, are planning to file a joint amicus brief supporting Apple in its court case.

During the continuing saga of Apple’s refusal to help authorities unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, many big industry names, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum, voiced their support for the Cupertino company.

It’s argued that what Apple is being ordered to do – essentially, build a backdoor to its own technology – is a step too far and sets a troubling precedent. Koum even said that “our freedom and our liberty is at stake.”

Other companies said to be included in the joint amicus brief include Amazon, Yahoo, Twitter, and cloud computing business Box. “The second the FBI unlocks this device, any sophisticated bad actor will move to another more secure device,” said Box CEO Aaron Levie. “We land squarely on the side of more security and more encryption.”

Some organizations are considering joining the amicus but haven’t yet committed to it, according to Buzzfeed. These include Slack and the trade group Internet Association. The deadline to file a friend-of-the court brief is March 3, and we’re likely to see several more firms and privacy groups joining the amicus brief before then.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/63926-microsoft-facebook-google-others-unite-support-apple-court.html

 

[stewi0001]

I thought McAfee was going to hack it for the FBI or didn't the FBI want to take the offer? Either way, I want John to eat his shoe.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Wow, that's a lot of lawyers, companies with deep pockets to pay them. The Feds won't like this

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

While I think that Apple should assist with the investigation by helping to crack the device, telling them to build backdoors into their future devices is plain despicable.

 

[D4N13L]

Now FBI going to get their *** kicked by super powerful lawyers of Apple, Facebook and Google

 

[Uncle Al]

Considering all the "shock and awe" that the FBI took credit for over the decades, to hear them now you would have to think they are nothing but a bunch of spoiled schoolboys that can't figure out how to get the prize out of a box of cracker-jacks. To date I have seen no less than two dozen articles explaining (some in great detail) how the FBI to get into that phone without Apple's assistance. This has clearly become another case of the government trying to take an incident and blow it out of proportion in order to further erode our civil rights. Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that any intelligence they might find on that phone is long since past and useless. If they want to be trusted then need to withdraw their subpoena and resubmit it for one and one only phone. In any case, they have done a LOT to add toward the mistrust of government and our policing agencies. What I fear most is that with all that has gone on the past few years, this country is over ripe for it's own Arab spring and sadly ..... it may be the only way to fix the mess. God help us all!

 

[umbala]

Considering all the "shock and awe" that the FBI took credit for over the decades, to hear them now you would have to think they are nothing but a bunch of spoiled schoolboys that can't figure out how to get the prize out of a box of cracker-jacks. To date I have seen no less than two dozen articles explaining (some in great detail) how the FBI to get into that phone without Apple's assistance. This has clearly become another case of the government trying to take an incident and blow it out of proportion in order to further erode our civil rights. Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that any intelligence they might find on that phone is long since past and useless. If they want to be trusted then need to withdraw their subpoena and resubmit it for one and one only phone. In any case, they have done a LOT to add toward the mistrust of government and our policing agencies. What I fear most is that with all that has gone on the past few years, this country is over ripe for it's own Arab spring and sadly ..... it may be the only way to fix the mess. God help us all!

Well, this whole thing has nothing to do with what's on that phone and everything to do with setting a precedent they can later abuse. Whenever there's a great tragedy, it's the perfect opportunity for government agencies to exploit it to their advantage. They can get unusual laws passed and get whatever they want approved that they could never normally get.

 

[abimanbawa]

No matter what apple should not do it, once apple do that for DOC that means the life of alot would be at risk