Apple/FBI Fight Gets UN Human Rights Chief's Attention; Victims' Families Back FBI
The FBI's court fight with Apple over unlocking an iPhone used by a San Bernardino, California, mass shooter could open "a Pandora’s Box that could have extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The high commissioner's lengthy statement Friday on the court case came a day after a slew of technology companies and associations, privacy and civil liberties groups, cryptographic and legal experts, law enforcement agencies and groups and family members of victims of the shooting filed "friend of the court" briefs supporting either Apple or the U.S. government (see 1603030050).
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Al Hussein's comments indicate the case may have a global impact, as some predicted (see 1602220026). He said the FBI "deserves ... full support in its investigation," but there are "many ways to investigate whether or not these killers had accomplices" rather than forcing Apple to create software to bypass the phone's security features. "This is not just about one case and one IT company in one country," said the U.S.- and U.K.-educated Jordanian. "It will have tremendous ramifications for the future of individuals’ security in a digital world, which is increasingly inextricably meshed with the actual world we live in.”
A loss by Apple would set a precedent, Al Hussein said, and prevent any IT company from protecting its customers' privacy around the world. FBI Director James Comey acknowledged a precedent could be set either way, though he said it wouldn't be legally binding, at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday (see 1603010013). Previously, Comey said the case was about one iPhone and one case and denied any precedent would be set, even though the U.S. government has taken Apple to court in several other current cases involving locked iPhones.
Al Hussein said there's "no shortage of security forces around the world that would take advantage of the ability to break into people's phones if they can." He said encryption is used by human rights supporters, journalists, whistleblowers and political dissidents whose lives could be endangered without it. "In the worst cases, a government’s ability to break into its citizens’ phones may lead to the persecution of individuals who are simply exercising their fundamental human rights,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., wants Comey to provide a classified briefing to members of Congress about details of the bureau's investigation into the San Bernardino shooting and specific evidence being sought in the iPhone used by one of the shooters. Salmon wants his colleagues to sign a draft letter addressed to Comey, which says the FBI should show there's "pertinent information" on the phone to help its investigation, and that the agency is doing so constitutionally. "By securing this briefing, we not only ensure that Congress has a better understanding of the legal challenges our law enforcement agencies face, but we also have a real opportunity to bring clarity to the issue, ensure that our agencies are not forced to rely on relatively obscure legal bases, protect the legitimate privacy rights of American citizens, and modernize our laws, if necessary," the letter said. Salmon circulated the letter Thursday.
In the court battle, experts and groups that filed amici briefs backing Apple, or said they intend to, include: a coalition of major tech companies including Amazon, Cisco, Facebook, Google and Microsoft; another tech coalition that includes eBay, GitHub, LinkedIn, Reddit and Twitter; a privacy group led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center; the Media Institute; Intel; several cryptographic experts; and a group of 32 law professors with expertise in the All Writs Act, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Lavabit, which used to provide encrypted email service, also asked permission to file a brief supporting Apple. It said it was involved in a "lengthy legal battle, and a potential contempt charge" with the FBI, which sought access to encrypted emails on the company's servers. Lavabit said it surrendered the private encryption and then ceased its email operation. It said the government is "seeking extraordinary assistance that far exceeds the scope of the All Writs Act and violates the rights guaranteed to Apple under the First and Thirteenth Amendments" to the U.S. Constitution, echoing similar arguments in other amici briefs.
Supporting the government, the California State Sheriffs' Association, California Police Chiefs' Association and the California Peace Officers' Association jointly filed a brief, as did the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and the National Sheriffs' Association. The San Bernardino County District Attorney's office also filed a brief.
Six family members of victims in the Dec. 2 shooting also plan to file a brief, siding with the government. In their application seeking permission to file a brief, they said their "perspectives are at the crossroads of those offered" by Apple and the government. While they own and use smartphones, they're also victims of the "terrible tragedy" and have a "unique interest" in the investigation, the application said. "Whereas much of the public and legal debate has focused on the potentially global ramifications of the Court's order, amici respectfully seek to remind all parties of the terrible crime -- an act of terrorism -- the United States must investigate to its fullest," the brief said. "Ultimately, this is a situation where no stone can be left unturned.”