US government still wants access to iPhone in New York case

Despite the fact that the FBI was able to gain access to the iPhone in the San Bernardino case, the US government is appealing in a second case. It revolves around the iPhone 5s of a drug dealer from New York. A lower court had previously ruled in Apple’s favour.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it plans to appeal, Bloomberg reported. The trial judge ruled in favor of Apple at the end of February and ruled that the government could not use the 18th century ‘All Writs Act’ to demand access to the phone. The same law had also been deployed in the San Bernardino case, as it had in about 70 previous cases.

Recently, the FBI managed to gain access to the iPhone 5c, without disclosing the exact technology involved. On Thursday, however, a speech by FBI Director James Comey revealed that the tool purchased for that purpose by the FBI will not work on newer models, including the 5s. It is therefore not surprising that a solution is now once again being sought through a legal route.

This means that the legal battle has moved from one case to another, so a court decision will still have to be made. This has not dispelled Apple’s fear that even more access requests will follow after a negative court decision. According to Bloomberg, the device runs iOS 7 in the New York case, which may make it easier to get access outside of Apple. The company has until April 15 to submit a comment.