Apple engineers is reported to stage an act of civil disobedience should Apple lose their legal battle with the FBI to create an iOS back-door.
As the FBI fights a legal battle to force Apple to unlock certain iPhones, it may prove to be even more difficult even if they get the court order. The New York Times suggests that even if Apple loses its court fight and is legally compelled to produce security-breaking software, Apple engineers tasked with creating the software may quit or simply stop working rather than comply with the court order.
Read: Barack Obama advocates middle ground in Apple vs FBI case
Apple has recently estimated that creating a proposed “GovtOS” (allowing the unlocking of certain iPhones) would take six to ten Apple engineers around four to six weeks to complete (if they are motivated to do so). These engineers can easily delay the project indefinitely and that would force the FBI to requisition Apple’s source code to undertake the work themselves, potentially raising even more legal issues.
Apple has insisted that creating this back-door OS version is fundamentally opposed to the companies values, arguing that the compelled creation of that software violates the company’s constitutional rights. This stance definitely filters down to Apple’s employees who may use the refusal to code as an act of civil disobedience.
Read: Apple to head to Capitol Hill over FBI requests
The scenario however may yet be years away as the legal battle rages in the district court, and most probably the appeals court and Supreme court thereafter. It could also prompt the US Congress to get involved which could complicate the issue even further. The NYT report however clearly states the intentions of Apple employees should the company lose their case in the above mentioned cases.
Source: TheVerge
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