More than two dozen U.S. tech companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft unite behind Apple ahead of iPhone encryption ruling

  • Google, Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp and about 20 other Internet and technology companies have backed Apple
  • The companies announced a legal briefs on Thursday asking a judge to support Apple Inc in its encryption battle with the US government
  • The FBI obtained a court order requiring Apple to write new software to access the phone of a San Bernardino shooter
  • Apple has pushed back, arguing that such a move would set a dangerous precedent and threaten customer security  
  • Six relatives of San Bernardino attack victims also filed a legal brief on Thursday, but opposing Apple in its high-profile fight 
  • Apple also launched a new Twitter account on Thursday dedicated to customer support 

Google, Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp and more than 20 other Internet and technology companies announced a legal briefs on Thursday asking a judge to support Apple Inc in its encryption battle with the US government, sources familiar with the companies' plans said.

The effort is a rare display of unity and support for the iPhone maker from companies which are competitors in many areas, and shows the breadth of Silicon Valley's opposition to the government's anti-encryption effort.

Six relatives of San Bernardino attack victims also filed a legal brief on Thursday, but opposing Apple in its high-profile fight.

The fight between Apple and the government became public last month when the US Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a court order requiring Apple to write new software and take other measures to disable passcode protection and allow access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters in December.

Apple Inc, lead by CEO Tim Cook (pictured), has refused to write new software and take other measures to disable passcode protection and allow access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters in December

Apple has pushed back, arguing that such a move would set a dangerous precedent and threaten customer security. 

 The clash has intensified a long-running debate over how much law enforcement and intelligence officials should be able to monitor digital communications. 

TECH COMPANIES BACKING APPLE 

Google

Facebook

Microsoft

Mozilla

Evernote

Snapchat

WhatsApp

Pinterest

Dropbox 

Yahoo

Box 

Twitter

Ebay 

LinkedIn

Airbnb

Square

Intel

AT&T

Intel 

Salesforce

Oracle

IBM

Autodesk

Consumer Technology Association

Information Tecnology Industry Council

The group of tech companies plans to file what is known as an amicus brief - a form of comment from outside groups common in complex cases - to the Riverside, California, federal judge Sheri Pym. 

She will rule on Apple's appeal of a court order that would force it to create software to unlock the iPhone.

'If the government arguments prevail, the Internet ecosystem will be weakened, leaving Internet users more vulnerable to hackers and other bad actors,' said a statement from the Computer and Communications Industry Association. 

The statement announced a joint amicus brief with the Internet Association and the i2 Coalition of Internet infrastructure firms. 

The companies will contest government arguments that the All Writs Act, a broad 1789 law that enables judges to require actions necessary to enforce their own orders, compels Apple to comply with its request.

In their joint brief, the tech companies will say that Congress passed the All Writs Act before the invention of the light bulb, and that it goes too far to contend that the law can be used to force engineers to disable security protections, according to a source familiar with their arguments.

Google, Facebook and others also appear to be tailoring their arguments specifically to a US Supreme Court audience, where the case may end up. 

Apple has said that unlocking the phone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook (pictured here with his wife and fellow gunman Tashfeen Malik) would set a dangerous precedent and threaten customer security

Apple has said that unlocking the phone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook (pictured here with his wife and fellow gunman Tashfeen Malik) would set a dangerous precedent and threaten customer security

The brief will highlight a unanimous 2014 US Supreme Court case which said law enforcement needs warrants to access smartphones snared in an arrest, the source said.

That opinion, penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, united the Supreme Court's liberal and conservative factions.

Briefs are also expected in support of the government.

Stephen Larson, a former federal judge, told Reuters last week that he is working on a brief with victims of the San Bernardino shooting who want the FBI to be able to access the data on the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook. 

'They were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why, how this could happen,' Larson said.

Several other tech companies are joining Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

Mozilla, maker of the Firefox web browser, said it was participating, along with online planning tool maker Evernote and messaging app firms Snapchat and WhatsApp. 

Cloud storage company Box, bookmarking and social media site Pinterest and online storage firm Dropbox are also participating.

'We stand against the use of broad authorities to undermine the security of a company's products,' Dropbox General Counsel Ramsey Homsany said in a statement. 

A separate group including Twitter Inc, eBay Inc , LinkedIn Corp and more than a dozen other tech firms filed a brief with the court in support of Apple on Thursday.

 AT&T Inc and Intel have each filed their own briefs.

The Business Software Alliance, which includes companies such as Salesforce, Oracle, IBM and Autodesk are also filing in support of Apple, according to USA Today

Networking leader Cisco Systems Inc said it expected to address the court on Apple's behalf, but did not say whether it was joining with the large group of companies.

Semiconductor maker Intel Corp plans to file a brief of its own in support of Apple, said Chris Young, senior vice president and general manager for Intel Security Group.

'We believe that tech companies need to have the ability to build and design their products as needed, and that means that we can't have the government mandating how we build and design our products,' Young said in an interview. 

Senior vice president and general counsel for Apple Inc Bruce Sewell testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on 'The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy', on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Tuesday

Senior vice president and general counsel for Apple Inc Bruce Sewell testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on 'The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy', on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Tuesday

Sewell (center) prepares to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday after a federal judge ordered Apple to help the FBI crack the encryption on the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook

Sewell (center) prepares to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday after a federal judge ordered Apple to help the FBI crack the encryption on the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook

FBI Director James Comey speaks about the FBI's request to Apple to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, during a hearing before the House Select Intelligence Committee on 'World Wide Threats' in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 25

FBI Director James Comey speaks about the FBI's request to Apple to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, during a hearing before the House Select Intelligence Committee on 'World Wide Threats' in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 25

The Stanford Law School for Internet and Society filed a separate brief on Thursday morning on behalf of a group of well-known experts on iPhone security and encryption, including Charlie Miller, Dino Dai Zovi, Bruce Schneier and Jonathan Zdziarski.

Privacy advocacy groups the American Civil Liberties Union, Access Now and the Wickr Foundation filed briefs on Wednesday in support of Apple before Thursday's deadline set by Pym.

Salihin Kondoker, whose wife Anies Kondoker was injured in the San Bernardino attack, also wrote on Apple's behalf, saying he shared the company's fear that the software the government wants Apple to create to unlock the phone could be used to break into millions of other phones.

'I believe privacy is important and Apple should stay firm in their decision,' the letter said. 'Neither I, nor my wife, want to raise our children in a world where privacy is the tradeoff for security.'

Other families who oppose Apple in the case filed their own brief on Thursday. 

In the families' brief, they argue that Apple's arguments are misplaced because the government has a valid warrant, and 'one does not enjoy the privacy to commit a crime.' The families also said Apple 'routinely modifies its systems' to comply with Chinese government directives. 

Law enforcement officials have said that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were inspired by Islamist militants when they shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 others last December 2 at a holiday party. 

Farook and Malik were later killed in a shootout with police and the FBI said it wants to read the data on Farook's phone to investigate any links with militant groups.

Earlier this week, a Brooklyn judge ruled that the government had overstepped its authority by seeking similar assistance from Apple in a drug case.

On top of the recent media attention Apple has received, the company launched a new Twitter account on Thursday dedicated to customer support, a move that expanded the company's social media presence and prompted immediate reaction from users complaining about their devices.

The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and watches said in a tweet under the handle @applesupport that it would provide tips and tricks to users online.

The new account prompted immediate cheers on Twitter. One fan was Jack Dorsey (@jack), chief executive of the social media platform.

'A HUGE welcome to @AppleSupport! Now using Twitter to provide customer support through tweets and DMs!' Dorsey tweeted.

Apple users have already sought to take advantage of the new avenue for customer support. @AppleSupport had more than 48,000 followers as of midday on Thursday. 

The account illustrates how Apple is expanding its social media presence, which has so far been minimal. The company does not have its own corporate Twitter account. 

 

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