The U.S. government says Apple's refusal to help investigators access data on a San Bernardino shooter's phone is guided by brand and business concerns. A hearing date has been set in California.
Whatever Congress might come up with would certainly be controversial — and this is an election year. That hasn't stopped some lawmakers from taking sides in the privacy vs. national security debate.
Apple is in a unique position to challenge the FBI's request for access to a terrorist suspect's iPhone. Nonetheless, more tech companies worry about the precedent.
The showdown between the FBI and Apple could result in huge changes for security and privacy, but one thing it may not do is deliver a big break in the San Bernardino case.
The question of whether tech companies should be required to build backdoors has been floating around Congress for years. A public fight over the San Bernardino terrorism case could break the logjam.
The Justice Department wants Apple to help investigators get around iPhone security features so that the FBI can access data belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers. Apple is firmly opposed.
Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center says the implication, if Apple did unlock the San Bernardino gunman's phone, is that future phones would have to have a built-in backdoor.