FBI Director James Comey sees possible broader implications following a court order to Apple to help the bureau unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers.
In a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee Thursday, Comey said that whatever the court decides “will be instructive for other courts, and there may well be other cases that involve the same kind of phone and the same operating system.”
Apple is currently fighting an order from a U.S. District Court judge in California to allow the FBI access to the phone used by Syed Farook, calling it an “overreach” by the federal government.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, echoed that sentiment in an interview with ABC News this week.
“What is at stake here is can the government compel Apple to write software that we believe would make hundreds of millions of customers vulnerable around the world, including the U.S.,” Cook said, while adding the issue should be decided by Congress instead of through the judicial system.
Comey also said he felt the case was “unlikely to be a trailblazer” for setting a legal precedent in future cases because of the “limiting principle” of the technology on the specific operating system on Farook’s phone.
But the implications for privacy and security are currently in play, with the FBI and Apple fighting over 12 similar cases concerning access to iPhones.
Comey said there are benefits to encryption and privacy technology that he enjoys, but also warned of the possible consequences if law enforcement is not able to get access to certain data that it needs to protect the public and normally accesses though court orders.
“If we’re going to move to a world where that is not possible anymore, the world will not end, but it will be a different world than where we are today and where we were in 2014,” he said.