Today, New York Magistrate Judge James Orenstein said in a ruling that the United States government couldn’t use the All Writs Act to force Apple to hack into an iPhone that was seized in connection with a drug case. This is the same law that the Department of Justice has cited in its action to force Apple to create new software to break into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino attackers. In response to the decision, ACT | The App Association executive director Morgan Reed made the following statement:
Judge Orenstein showed a healthy amount of skepticism for the government’s efforts to twist and distort the All Writs Act to justify forcing companies to hack their own products. To paraphrase the Princess Bride, the judge basically said, “You keep citing that law. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
This is major setback for the government’s campaign to force Apple and other companies to weaken the security of their products.