The United States Department of Justice has withdrawn its court order against Apple after the FBI successfully cracked a disputed iPhone 5c handset without Cupertino’s help.
The news follows an FBI-led postponement of a planned court showdown between the two sides after a third-party came forward with a way to bypass the pass code following Apple’s well-documented refusal.
Following investigation into whether using the method could potentially destroy the data left on the phone by San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook, investigators have now been able to break in successfully.
As such, the DoJ is withdrawing the court order filed against Apple under the 226-year old All Writs Act, which the government insisted compelled the firm to assist with the investigation.
The filing, from US attorney Eleen M Decker and assistant US attorney Tracy L Wilkison, reads: “
The announcement, at least for now, brings to a close the most compelling and dramatic tech story of 2016 in somewhat anti-climatic style.
Whether this puts the matter to bed, or whether political pressure will increase on Apple and other tech giants to loosen the encryption of data remains to be seen.
A spokesperson for the DoJ said the government would continue to look for ways to enable investigators to obtain “crucial” information and that it would seek cooperation from tech firms.
Melanie Newman said (via The Guardian): “It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails.
“We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors.”
We expect a statement from Apple to be forthcoming and have contacted the firm for comment.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
