The legal battle between tech giant Apple and the FBI is headline-worthy enough in its own right, but it appears the battle may still be heating up. In the weeks since the FBI’s initial ruling requiring Apple to build a “back door” into its iOS operating system – and the tech company’s subsequent condemnation of that order – other Silicon Valley giants have stepped forward in support of Apple, in perhaps one of the geekiest “And My Axe” moments ever.
According to The New York Times, several major tech companies have officially pledged their support to the iKing. The list includes such high-profile corporations as Twitter, Airbnb, eBay, and LinkedIn. This is more than just a show of moral support as well. The 17-company “coalition” went so far as to submit a court brief officially pledging their support to Apple in this case. The Times anticipated that around 40 companies, including staunch rivals Google and Microsoft, will submit similar briefs, either jointly or independently.
Maddeningly, the head-butting, which only seems to be escalating, traces its roots back to a law that was enacted in 1789. Known as the All Writs Act, it enables state and federal courts the authority to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” On the flip side of this lovely bit of legislative archaica are the very real consumer privacy concerns voiced by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has gone on record saying that the creation of a back door would compromise the security of potentially every iPhone owner.