This week the Verge reports that a filing by Apple in response to a Eastern District of New York court request shows 13 Apple devices are subjects of court orders by the FBI in five different court districts, using the All Writs Act as justification. Additionally, the Manhattan District Attorney said his district alone had possession of 175 different devices that it was unable to decrypt.
· This week Apple filed a motion to vacate the court order requiring it to assist the FBI in cracking the passcode of an iPhone 5C. Apple said in a conference call that the FBI wanted a government OS and that Apple would have to build an “FBI forensics lab” at its headquarters. Apples filing denies that that the All Writs act provides a basis to “conscript apple to create software enabling the government to hack into phones.” It also argues the order would violate the first amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause to be free of arbitrary deprivation of its liberty.
· Apple has received support from Verizon, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. All who plan to file an amicus brief in support of Apple in the San Bernardino case.
