TECHNOLOGY NEWS APRIL 13, 2018 / 1:11 PM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

Lawmakers question FBI over San Bernardino suit against Apple

Stephen Nellis
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray questioning the law enforcement agency’s decision to take Apple Inc to court to force the company to help unlock a mass shooter’s iPhone.

Last month, a report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog found that the FBI didn’t exhaust all its options to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook’s iPhone before attempting to force Apple to help do so. The FBI didn’t consult its own internal experts or outside vendors before going to court, and the poor coordination resulted in the FBI withdrawing its legal efforts when an outside vendor eventually accessed the device.

A group of 10 representatives evenly split between Republicans and Democrats said the report raised concerns that the FBI officials didn’t exhaust the agency’s technical options “precisely because they wanted the suit against Apple to go forward.”

The report “undermines the statements that the FBI made during the San Bernardino litigation and consistently since then, that only the device manufacturer could provide a solution,” the lawmakers wrote.

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