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Apple refuses to assist ED in unlocking Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's iPhone or grant them access. Here's the reason
While being interrogated, Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that if the ED were to access his iPhone's data and conversations, they would gain insight into AAP's 'election strategy' and preliminary political partnerships.
Reports indicate that Apple has reportedly refused to unlock and provide the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with access to the iPhone belonging to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. It is said that the tech giant, based in Cupertino, stated that the data could only be reached with the password created by the device's owner.
According to a report in The Indian Express, insiders revealed that the Enforcement Directorate only discovered Rs 70,000 and four cell phones during their night raid coinciding with Kejriwal's arrest on March 21. These items were seized, including the Chief Minister's own smartphone. Allegedly, the Delhi CM had turned off his iPhone and refused to provide his password.
Why didn't Kejriwal reveal his iPhone's password to the ED?
According to information, during his interrogation, Kejriwal stated that if the Enforcement Directorate were to access his mobile phone data and conversations, they would gain insight into AAP's "election plan" and alliances before the election.
Apple's track record of refusing to unlock devices for police investigations
This isn't the initial instance of Apple declining to unlock a device when asked by a nation's investigative authorities.
In 2020, Apple declined to unlock the device belonging to Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Second Lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, who was accused of killing three Americans at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. The US authorities labeled this event as an act of terrorism. The FBI requested Apple to unlock the device and share the data to assist in their investigation.
Apple declined to unlock the device but supplied the investigating bodies with an extensive range of data linked to Alshamrani. When additional requests were made, Apple offered more details, which included data they could extract from iCloud backups, account details, and transactional data from several accounts.
In a parallel situation in 2016, a federal judge requested Apple's help in unlocking the iPhones belonging to two individuals suspected of terrorism, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who were implicated in the 2015 San Bernardino assault.
The court requested Apple to offer "practical technical support" to the officials and devise a method to bypass Apple's security feature, which locks the phone and makes the device's data unreachable after 10 failed password attempts. However, in this case as well, Apple refused to assist the FBI.
Why won't Apple unlock devices for police departments?
Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has consistently upheld the company's stance of not entertaining such demands. He points to Apple's commitment to protect the privacy of their users, and crucially, to uphold civil freedom.
The situation (pertaining to Farook's incident) is not just about one phone or a singular investigation. When we got the directive from the government, we realized we needed to voice our stance," Cook communicated to staff via email. Cook, alongside Apple's other top executives, have frequently made efforts to clarify that supporting encryption doesn't equate to facilitating criminal activity or siding with terrorists.
Cook continued by stating that although Apple has "zero tolerance or sympathy for terrorists," adhering to the Department of Justice's directives could establish a risky precedent.
The data protection of hundreds of millions of innocent individuals is risked, and a perilous precedent that endangers everyone's civil rights is being established, as stated by Cook in his email.
Apple holds the view that creating a loophole in their device encryption for the benefit of law enforcement, such as the police, could potentially be misused by malicious entities like cybercriminals and hackers.
The Senior Director of Global Privacy at Apple, Jane Horvath, has publicly stated that end-to-end encryption is crucial for the services we depend on. She also expressed that constructing a loophole in encryption won't be the solution to address issues such as terrorist investigations.
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The Indian government has successfully achieved its updated tax goals of Rs 34.37 lakh Cr for the 2024 fiscal year
Is it possible for India to regain control of Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka?
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