No precedent, eh? Justice Department wants Apple to unlock 12 more iPhones

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iPhone 6s
Did anyone seriously believe this wasn't going to happen?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

FBI director James Comey and his supporters suggest that making Apple break its iPhone encryption for the San Bernardino shooter case would be a one-off event, and not the start of a slippery slope into unwanted surveillance.

Well, it seems that someone needs to tell the Department of Justice that, because the D.O.J. is reportedly salivating at the thought of being able to hack iPhones for criminal investigations — with court orders being filed for Apple to help extract iPhone data in a further dozen cases around the U.S.

As with the current case at the heart of the FBI’s battle with Apple, the Justice Department is using the “All Writs Act” as the basis for asking Apple to help bypass smartphone security features in cases where the locked phones may contain evidence.

Interestingly — and proving what many people had predicted from the start — these dozen cases don’t involve terrorist charges, according to reports.

Apple, fortunately, is fighting its corner and isn’t giving up on its pro-privacy stance.

In all seriousness though, was there a single person out there (aside from possibly Bill Gates) who thought the government would stop at wanting to hack just one iPhone? This is exactly why this case is rapidly turning into the tech story of the year.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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