The company said it was possible to extract certain types of unencrypted user data from the iPhone 5s phone running iOS 7, though it would not have been possible if it was a device running iOS 8 or higher. In the Feng investigation, a magistrate judge in the New York court had issued a warrant to search the phone for evidence but law enforcement was unable to do so because of the passcode mechanism, and asked Apple for assistance. But he ruled out legislation at this point to force tech companies to provide access to these devices and communications, indicating that the government was in negotiations with the companies.Ĭivil rights and tech industry groups have, meanwhile, asked President Barack Obama to take a stand on the issue by ruling out any dilution of encryption, such as mandating the creation of backdoors for law enforcement. The dispute over whether Apple is required to assist the DOJ in its investigations is one of many controversies surrounding the use of access protection and encryption by tech companies in their products and services.įederal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, for example, has complained that the encryption comes in the way of monitoring terrorists who use these encrypted channels for recruitment and other communications.

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