Apple wants the to move its fight with the FBI over a killer’s iPhone out of the courts and into Congress.
In a public Q&A and an internal memo to employees, CEO Tim Cook said the Department of Justice should drop its fight over the iPhone owned by one of the San Bernardino killers, and instead work with lawmakers to debate bigger issues of security and privacy.
“We feel the best way forward would be for the government to withdraw its demands under the All Writs Act and, as some in Congress have proposed, form a commission or other panel of experts on intelligence, technology and civil liberties to discuss the implications for law enforcement, national security, privacy and personal freedoms,” he said in both documents.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Friday invited both Cook and FBI Director James Comey to discuss encryption and its implications for privacy and national security at a hearing.
The conflict centers on an iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, who, with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in the December mass shooting. To access data on the iPhone, Justice Department secured a federal court order requesting Apple development software that makes it easier to hack its passcode, but Apple says creating such a key could threaten the security of consumers’ digital privacy at large.