House Judiciary Committee member Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued a statement yesterday calling the court order to force Apple to help the FBI decode the San Bernadino shooters’ iPhone “unlawful, unwise, and unsafe.” The congressman advised companies to comply with warrants, but not when they call upon businesses to reengineer their own software to create hacking tools—something he said “would set a dangerous precedent for the future.”
“It’s about whether or not the government should have access to the devices we use every day to store personal and private information,” Issa said. “No company should be forced to intentionally weaken their own products at the bidding of a government agent.”
Apple has hired two high-profile lawyers to contest the court order: former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and Walmart’s lead outside counsel Theodore Boutrous. Both represent the Los Angeles-based firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, rated by American Lawyer as having the best litigation department in America.
