The tension between the benefits and challenges of encryption is not new. It started in the 1990s and was reinvigorated in 2014 when companies like Apple and Google implemented automatic full-device encryption for mobile devices and automatic encryption for certain communications systems. Companies using such strong encryption assert they do not maintain encryption keys and therefore cannot unlock, or decrypt, the devices or communications—not even when presented with a court authorized wiretap order. Law enforcement concerns about the lack of encryption keys were highlighted by the November and December 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France , and San Bernardino, CA . Questions arose as to whether the attackers used strong encryption and, more importantly, if they did, whether and how this might have hindered investigations. Following the attack, U.S. investigators recovered a cell phone reportedly used by one of the shooters. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI; Bureau) Director James B. Comey testified before Congress two months later, indicating that the Bureau was still unable to access the information on the device. Access to San Bernardino iPhone

On February 16, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple, Inc. under the All Writs Act to provide "reasonable technical assistance to assist law enforcement agents in obtaining access to the data" on the cell phone for which the government had already obtained a probable cause warrant. The order directs Apple's assistance to feature three components:
bypass or disable the iPhone's auto-erase after 10 incorrect passcode attempts function (even if the function has not been enabled); enable the FBI to electronically input passcodes for testing; and ensure there is no added delay between passcode attempts. The All Writs Act, enacted as part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, provides that federal courts "may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law." To determine the reasonableness of the order in that case, the Court assessed a seemingly non -exhaustive list of factors, including (1) the company was not "so far removed from the underlying controversy" to avoid compliance; (2) the order required only "meager assistance" from the company; (3) the telephone company was a "highly regulated public utility with a duty to serve the public"; (4) the company had not proffered a "substantial interest in not providing assistance"; the use of the pen register was not "offensive" to the company; (5) the company regularly employed such devices for billing purposes: (6) the company had previously promised to provide the FBI instructions on how to install its own pen register; (7) the order was in no way "burdensome"; (8) the order provided the company be fully reimbursed for its efforts; (9) compliance with the order required "minimal effort" by the company; and (10) there were "no disruptions to its operations." read New York Tel. First, is whether a reviewing court would view the "unreasonable burden" test as including an assessment of not only the burden on Apple in creating and installing new software on this particular phone, but also the burden on Apple's business as a whole. The question here is whether the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) can be read as "specifically address[ing]" the relief the government seeks. Questions Going Forward

In response to this legal debate, policymakers may ask a number of questions with respect to the order from the Central District of California and the larger ongoing encryption debate. Apple has indicated that it is possible to develop an alternate operating system for the iPhone in question that would accomplish the items in the court order. As such, the focus now has been on whether it should be done. Will doing so effectively create a "back door" to the encryption? If Apple develops an operating system update to comply with the court order, what precedent does this set for Apple and other companies' compliance with future law enforcement investigations? Would Apple now need to help international law enforcement entities with similar requests?
The tension between the benefits and challenges of encryption has been an issue for law enforcement and policymakers since the 1990s, and was reinvigorated in 2014 when companies like Apple and Google implemented automatic enhanced encryption on mobile devices and certain communications systems. Companies using such strong encryption do not maintain "back door" keys and, therefore, now cannot easily unlock, or decrypt, the devices—not even when presented with a valid legal order. Law enforcement concerns about the lack of back door keys were highlighted by the November and December 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, CA. Questions arose as to whether the attackers used strong encryption and, more importantly, if they did, whether and how this might have hindered investigations.
Following the December 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA,, U.S. investigators recovered a cell phone reportedly used by one of the shooters. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James B. Comey testified before Congress two months later, indicating that the Bureau was still unable to access the information on that device. On February 16, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple to provide "reasonable technical assistance to assist law enforcement agents in obtaining access to the data" on the cell phone. The order directs Apple's assistance to feature three components:
bypass or disable the iPhone's auto-erase after 10 incorrect passcode attempts function (even if the function has not been enabled); enable the FBI to electronically input passcodes for testing; and ensure there is no added delay between passcode attempts.
The order is not for Apple to decrypt the device itself, something which Apple has publicly stated it cannot do. Instead, this order would enable the FBI to automate the attempts of every possible passcode for the device until the right combination of characters is hit upon by pushing a software update to the iPhone in question's operating system.
Apple is contesting the order, which will require the magistrate judge, and perhaps the district and appeals courts, to assess whether the All Writs Act (28 U.S.C. §1651) can be interpreted broadly to grant the relief the government seeks. The All Writs Act, enacted as part of the first Judiciary Act of 1789, provides a residual source of legal authority to federal judges to enforce the orders of their courts. Whether the All Writs Act can be read to include such an order will largely depend on two inquiries: first, whether a reviewing court would view the FBI's request as an "unreasonable burden" on Apple under the 1977 Supreme Court case United States v. New York Tel. Co.; and, second, whether such a command is consistent with the intent of Congress. This is a fact-intensive inquiry, the contours of which are uncertain.
Policymakers may ask a number of questions with respect to the order from the Central District of California and the larger ongoing encryption debate. Apple has indicated that it is possible to develop an alternate operating system for the iPhone in question that would accomplish the items in the court order. As such, a main question now is whether it should be done. Will doing so effectively create a "back door" to the encryption? What precedent might be set by Apple providing the court-ordered assistance? If Apple develops an alternate operating system to comply with this order, would Apple and other companies have to comply with similar requests in other law enforcement investigations? In addition, as a multinational corporation, would Apple need to comply with requests from other national governments?