House members to reportedly argue Congress should settle iPhone encryption dispute
- mar
- 01
According to a new report, members of the House Judiciary Committee are planning to file a court brief arguing that the current encryption dispute between the FBI and Apple should be settled by Congress. From Reuters:
Members of the House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a "friend of the court" brief in Apple Inc's [AAPL.O] encryption dispute with the U.S. government to argue that the case should be decided by Congress and not the courts, five sources familiar with the matter said.
As Reuters notes, intervention by congressmen in this matter would be an unusual move. However, it is expected that committee members from both sides of the aisle will submit individual briefs rather than filing as a whole.
The report goes on to mention that any filing is likely to occur after an upcoming congressional hearing on encryption in which the House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony from Apple's Bruce Sewell and FBI Director James Comey. Sewell, who is Apple's Senior Vice President and is serving as the company's primary witness, recently released a transcript of his opening statment ahead of the committee hearing.
In a separate, but similar case in New York, a judge today has sided with Apple, arguing that the government can't compel the Cupertino company to assist in unlocking an iPhone using the All Writs Act.
