US Authorities Appeal to Apple to Unlock iPhone In Drug Case

In the FBI drug case the judge decided not to order Apple to unlock the iPhone. However, now Apple faces the U.S. authorities' appeal.

According to BBC News, the U.S. Justice Department is relying on the same law that was invoked in the San Bernardino shooting case. At the time, the Justice Department asked Apple to unlock the encrypted phone belonging to the gunman.

After a Brooklyn judge declared that he had no power to order Apple to unlock the iPhone, the case has now gone to a higher court. Judge Orenstein's gave his decision last week, but the government resubmitted its arguments to a higher judge.

In a case involving a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, the U.S. government asked Judge James Orenstein of the original hearing to order Apple to unlock the phone belonging to Jun Feng, the man who has pleaded guilty. The Justice Department explained that the data encrypted on the mobile device would be used in order to find any of Feng's co-conspirators. In regards to U.S. authorities requesting to unlock the encrypted iPhone, Apple declared that the order would start a "slippery slope that threatens everyone's safety and privacy".

The case involving participation in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy has similarities with that being heard in California in relation to the San Bernardino shootings. However, in the the New York case an older version of Apple's operating system is involved. The iOS 7 that is running on Feng's phone is not protected by the same encryption technology.

In its court filing submitted on Monday, the Justice Department declared that Apple won't need to create a "master key" to access all iPhones. The high-tech company has already the technological capability to access the unencrypted contents by bypassing the passcode feature.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's fight with the U.S. government over the request to unlock an iPhone has consequences across borders. In the European Union, this issue is threatening to delay a trans-Atlantic pact protecting European data from American eyes.