Apple Given More Time to Oppose iPhone 5c Unlock, May Argue Free Speech: Report

Apple has been given three additional days by the court to file an response to the order that has caused outrage among consumers and tech executives alike. Shortly after Tim Cook’s open letter was posted, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sided with Apple, just like Twitter and the Facebook CEO.

The company has to file a response with the court by Friday, February 26 instead of Tuesday, February 23, said two people familiar with the matter to Bloomberg.

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Reuters says Apple will likely try to “invoke the United States’ protections of free speech as one of its key legal arguments in trying to block an order to help unlock the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters”.

In its response, Apple will probably include the First Amendment’s right to free speech, lawyers following the dispute told Reuters.

Interestingly, the iPhone (the topic of the dispute) was not owned by Farook, but by his employer, the local government, which, by the way, has consented to the search of the iPhone. The federal magistrate that issued the order, Sheri Pym, is also a former federal prosecutor.

So, everything seems to underpin the Guardian’s report, which clearly states that the FBI has been preparing for this fight against Apple for months.

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