Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft Back Apple in Court Fight Over Encryption

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – RE/Code reports some of Apple’s fiercest technology rivals have sided with the Cupertino company in its court fight over encryption.

A Who’s Who of the tech sector — 15 companies that include Amazon, Cisco, Facebook, Google and Microsoft — filed a court brief today, speaking out in one voice in a case they describe as of singular importance to the industry.

In the filing, the companies say they share the public’s outrage at the attack that took place in San Bernardino and feel no sympathy for terrorists. Indeed, they collectively respond to tens of thousands of government requests for data to assist in criminal investigations.

But the technology giants say they draw the line at the government’s request in the San Bernardino case, in which law enforcement seeks to “commandeer” Apple’s engineers to undermine the security features of its own products. The companies call on the federal judge to throw out the order that would require Apple to assist investigators in hacking the iPhone used in a recent attack.

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Top photo: Navy Admiral Michael S. Rogers, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, addresses RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, March 1. 2016. U.S. Navy video.