By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Apple became the first big tech company to openly criticize the FBI’s attempts to force companies to unlock phones to help investigators get access to information.
But the company has been joined by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and a host of others who filed court briefs on Thursday to support Apple’s argument that it does not have to unlock phones for law enforcement, the New York Times reports.
About 40 companies and organizations filed more than a dozen briefs with the Federal Court for the District Central California to challenge the government’s case.
They argue about the infringement of free speech, the importance of encryption and government overreach.
“These companies, which are often fierce competitors, have joined together to voice concern about the attempted government overreach in this case, which threatens the integrity and security of their products and privacy rights of consumers in general,” said Neal Katyal, a lawyer at Hogan Lovells for the tech companies and a former acting solicitor general of the United States.
