Apple Inc. and the 5th Amendment

The 5th Amendment and Apple Inc.

The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a restriction on the government and its security agencies from prosecuting a person accused of committing a crime with disregard to due process of law. The 5th Amendment forbids self-incrimination and mandates due process of the law in cases involving criminal activities Deskus (2018). In 2016, the FBI served Apple Inc. with a court that required the company to allow access to the information in a suspected shooter’s iPhone. The FBI requested to hack an iPhone used by Syed Farook, a suspect involved in the mass shooting in San Francisco, California. The directive could infringe Apple Inc.’s privacy policies and protection of critical data. In response, Apple Inc. CEO, Tim Cook, filed a response intended to reverse the court order presented by the FBI directing the company to provide the security agency with access to Farook’s iPhone (Sterbenz, 2016).

The Importance of Legal Compliance

Businesses must operate in conformity with laws (Mayer et al., 2014). The provisions of the 1st and 5th Amendments on liberty and freedom do not present an undue burden on Apple Inc.’s operations. Instead, the provisions protect Apple Inc. customers’ privacy rights. In the defense, Cook stated that providing the information on the Farook’s iPhone to the FBI would undermine civil liberty and freedoms granted to Americans (Holpuch, 2016). Additionally, the attorneys of Apple Inc. argued that the company did not have any significant connection to the mass shooting that occurred in San Francisco, CA (Sterbenz, 2016). U.S. laws do not allow the government, or any of its agencies, to compel an individual or private company to produce incriminating evidence. Apple Inc.’s iOS 8 is designed using a code to protect its data security and users’ privacy in conformity with the 1st amendment to the constitution. Tim Cook and Apple Inc.’s attorneys’ position in the case serves to protect iPhone users’ privacy rights.

References

Deskus, C. (2018). Fifth Amendment Limitations on Criminal Algorithmic Decision-Making. New York University Journal of Legislation & Public Policy, vol.21, Iss.1, pp. 237-286. Retrieved on August 15, 2018 from http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Legis-21-1-Note-Deskus-FifthAmdtAlgorithm.pdf

Holpuch, A. (2016). Tim Cook says Apple’s refusal to unlock iPhone for FBI is a ’civil liberties’ issue. The Guardian. Retrieved on August 15, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/22/tim-cook-apple-refusal-unlock-iphone-fbi-civil-liberties

Mayer, D., Warner, D., Siedel, G., Lieberman, J., &Amp; Martina, A. (2014). Business Law and the Legal Environment. Washington D.C: Saylor Foundation.

Sterbenz, C. (2016). Apple is using 2 main arguments in its epic fight against the FBI. Business Insider. Retrieved on August 15, 2018 from https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-using-first-and-fifth-amendment-2016-2