Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter to Back Apple With Legal Filing in FBI Case
Tyler Pina for Re/code
Policy
Google plans to follow Microsoft in throwing its legal support behind Apple in its increasingly contentious dispute with the federal government around the iPhone connected with the San Bernardino terror attacks, according to sources.
At a congressional hearing on Thursday, Microsoft’s legal chief, Brad Smith, said that the company plans to file an amicus brief next week in support of Apple’s resistance to helping the FBI hack the phone. Google will deliver its own supporting brief “soon,” according to sources familiar with the company.
Apple’s standoff with the feds is growing more heated each day. Apple filed documents in court today asking a judge to throw out the order demanding that the company assist the FBI in getting past the phone’s encryption. Apple has also asked its tech peers to stand behind the company.
Google, which controls Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system, was the first tech company to publicly voice support for Apple when the case broke last week. CEO Sundar Pichai said the government demands set a “troubling precedent.”
Update: It appears that the rest of the tech community is rallying behind Apple, too. Both Twitter and Facebook are also expected to throw their legal support behind Apple next week, according to sources.
One source told Re/code that “the industry is aligned and working on a joint submission to the court.” So it appears that numerous tech companies will file one amicus brief together instead of numerous individual briefs.
Additional reporting by Kurt Wagner.
More Posts From Re/code’s Apple-FBI Coverage
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- Apple-FBI Encryption Battle Shifts to New York (Updated)
- FBI Director Comey Says iPhone Hack ‘Doesn’t Work on a 5s’ or Newer
- FBI Drops iPhone Case Against Apple After Outside Hack Succeeds
- Apple Seeks Delay in NYC iPhone Case Until FBI Tests New Unlocking Method
- Plenty of Unanswered Questions Remain in the San Bernardino iPhone Case
- How the FBI Might Be Hacking the San Bernardino iPhone Without Apple’s Help
- Israeli Firm Reportedly Helping FBI Crack San Bernardino Phone (Updated)
- FBI May Have a Way to Unlock iPhone; Planned Tuesday Hearing Canceled (Updated)
- Encryption Pioneer Phil Zimmermann Backs Apple in Fight With FBI
- Apple’s Tim Cook Uses Product Launch Stage to Preview FBI Court Fight
- Steve Wozniak and Palmer Luckey: Virtual Reality, Yes. Augmented Reality, Not Yet.
- Apple’s Tim Cook Calls FBI’s ‘Going Dark’ Claims ‘a Crock’
- Group Plans Pro-Apple Protest Outside San Bernardino Courthouse When Apple, FBI Meet
- Apple Would Like to Make This Perfectly Clear: It’s Not Making ‘Accommodations’ to China
- Apple Calls on Court to ‘Zealously Guard’ Civil Liberties
- The Room Where It Happened: How Silicon Valley (Mostly) Lined Up Behind Apple
- John Oliver Explains the Apple-FBI Case Better Than Pretty Much Anyone
- Aaron Burr’s Clerk Gets Pulled Into Government’s Legal Duel With Apple
- Apple Accuses Government of Trying to ‘Smear’ and ‘Vilify’ Company
President Obama spoke about security issues with Re/code:
