“Instead, this case hinges on a contentious policy issue about how society should weigh what law enforcement officials want against the widespread repercussions and serious risk their demands would create,” Apple lawyers argued. With each new filing in advance of a scheduled March 22 court hearing on the matter, the rhetoric has dramatically escalated while the substance of the dispute has largely never changed:
Apple claims that the court’s order would represent an unprecedented breach of customer privacy, while the government counters that its request is narrow in scope and that national security interests trump whatever privacy claims can be asserted involving access to Farook’s phone. “This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy,” Apple contends. “But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government over-reaching.” READ MORE
