Apple is facing quite a legal scuffle with the FBI over the iPhone owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters, but the Cupertino brand is not alone, as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and other big names in the industry are standing with the company.
About 40 firms and organizations are expected to submit a bombardment of amicus briefs in a bid to weaken the government's stance in the case, showing support for Apple.
One notable entity on the list is AT&T, as it agrees with the government up to a certain degree in which it supports the investigation of the incident. However, it remarks that the authorities are asking too much of Apple in this particular matter in an independent filing.
"In this case, however, the government seeks more than what can be supported under the law as it is written today," AT&T says.
The carrier continues to say that the decision should be placed in the hands of the Congress, not the courts, noting that the governments, the courts, consumers and companies need "clear and uniform" rules that underwent a comprehensive legislative process.
Just like AT&T, Intel also expressed its support for Apple separately.
"[C]ompanies like ours are in business to improve the security of our products, and to safeguard the digital lives of those who use them. It's an unprecedented step for the government to require a company to develop technology that weakens security in a commercial product. Such a move chills innovation," Chris Young, senior VP and general manager of Intel Security Group, says.
As part of a group that consists of 15 companies, Amazon, Google and Microsoft agree that forcing Apple to build software is in violation of the company's First Amendment rights.
"Writing computer code can be a creative, complex, and expressive task, and it is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment," the motion reads.
Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay and 14 other companies say that the government is "not only legally unprecedented and unfounded but they will also erode the critically important principles of privacy, security, transparency" in a separate filing.
The authorities are using the All Writs Act of 1789 to get Apple to comply with their demand, but if the company does cooperate, it will, as Apple CEO Tim Cook puts it, set a dangerous precedent. To put that into perspective, investigators everywhere, even from other countries, could start asking the Cupertino brand to provide them with the same treatment, citing this case to force the company to do so.
On the opposite end of the battle, the FBI says that the backdoor it wants Apple to develop will only be used once for the San Bernardino shooting despite Cook's statement that "there is no way to guarantee such control" and that should the tool fall into the wrong hands, it can "unlock any iPhone in someone's physical possession."
Some relatives of the San Bernardino shooting victims also submitted an amicus brief. It should not come as much of a surprise that they are on the government's side on this matter. According to the statement, the information in the iPhone could contain clues that will lead to other accomplices and any other planned attack. If it doesn't yield any detail of the sort, it could nevertheless "explain the motive for this senseless tragedy" or potentially provide "closure" for the victims' family.
However, it's worth noting that not every family member of the San Bernardino victims shares the same sentiment as the majority. The wife of Salihin Kondoker, Anies, fell victim to the shooters, getting shot three times. Fortunately, she survived the whole ordeal. Kondoker sent a letter to the court, and he wrote that the information in the iPhone would be of little value.
"They are worried that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear," he says.
Other than the already mentioned companies, 32 law professors, Access Now and Wickr Foundation, ACT/The App Association, American Civil Liberties Union, AVG Technologies, Data Foundry and many others are backing Apple up in this long-running legal case.
The San Bernardino attack was carried out by Rizwan Farook and Tasheen Malik, his wife, claiming the lives of 14 victims and wounding 22 others on Dec. 2. The two were killed after a shootout with the police.
