On Friday, Apple formally responded to the government’s demand that the company help unlock a seized iPhone in New York, which pre-dates the debacle that played out earlier this year in San Bernardino.
As Ars reported last month, federal prosecutors have asked a more senior judge, known as a district judge, to countermand a magistrate judge who earlier ruled in Apple’s favor, which is why Apple had to file now. In that ruling, US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein concluded that what the government was asking for went too far. In his ruling, he worried about a "virtually limitless expansion of the government's legal authority to surreptitiously intrude on personal privacy."
The case involves Jun Feng, a drug dealer who has already pleaded guilty, and his seized iPhone 5S running iOS 7. Prosecutors have said previously that the investigation was not over and that it still needed data from Feng's phone. As the government has reminded the court, Apple does have the ability to unlock this phone. Moreover, as Department of Justice lawyers note, Apple has complied numerous times previously.
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