Apple denies giving China its source code

By

Bruce Sewell
Apple's top lawyer went back to Congress today.
Photo: House Committee on the Judiciary Hearings

Chinese authorities have demanded Apple give the country complete access to its source code within the last two years, but Apple says it has refused to comply with the government’s demands.

Apple’s top lawyer, Bruce Sewell, defended the company’s position before U.S. lawmakers at a congressional hearing today, after the iPhone-maker was accused by law enforcement officials of refusing to help the U.S. government while at the same time freely giving information to China for business reasons.

The FBI and Apple went back to Washington DC to continue arguing whether the federal government can compel Apple to intentionally weaken its security in order to aid prosecutors in criminal investigations. The two sides have been embroiled in a public battle ever since the FBI demanded Apple unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. Even though that case was eventually abandoned, the Department of Justice is still trying to force Apple to comply in other cases.

At the hearings this morning, the commander of the Indiana State police, Capt. Charles Cohen, accused Apple of quietly cooperating with Beijing. Cohen had no sources to back up the claim though and only cited ‘news reports’ when pressed by Representative Anna Eshoo about his allegations.

In a separate hearing with tech experts, Bruce Sewell shot down the claims and said Apple has not complied with the Chinese government. Despite strong opposition to encryption from law enforcement authorities, Sewell told the panel that any vulnerability built into Apple products would harm 100 percent of its users.

You can watch the full hearing below:

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