Apple Engineers Contemplate Refusing To Write Code Demanded By Justice Department

from the well-this-could-get-interesting dept

In all the discussions about Apple v. the FBI, a few people occasionally ask what would happen if Apple's engineers just refused to write the code demanded (some also ask about writing the code, but purposely messing it up). And now it appears that at least some Apple engineers are thinking about just this scenario. According to the NY Times:

Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities. Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees.

As the NY Times notes, these details certainly add some pretty hefty weight to the First Amendment arguments about "compelled speech" that Apple has made (and that the EFF doubled down on in its amicus brief). As for what then would happen... that's up to the court, but it's likely that the court would find Apple in contempt and/or start fining it. But that still leaves open the question of how does it comply if not a single engineer is willing to help out.

This particular legal dispute gets more interesting day by day...

Filed Under: all writs act, code, doj, engineers, ios, privacy, refuse, security
Companies: apple