Apple ‘rebuffed’ Chinese requests for access to code
WASHINGTON — Apple had been asked by Chinese authorities within the past two years to hand over its source code but refused, the company’s top lawyer told legislators on Tuesday in response to US law enforcement criticism of its stance on technology security.
The congressional testimony highlighted a key issue in a heated spat between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over unlocking encrypted data from an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino shootings in California in December last year: how much should private technology companies co-operate with governments.
Law enforcement officials have tried to portray Apple as possibly handing over code to China for business reasons, while rebuffing US requests for access to private data in criminal cases.
"I want to be very clear on this," Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell told Tuesday’s hearing under oath. "We have not provided source code to the Chinese government."
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did "not understand" the details of the situation.
Apple has previously denied the accusation as a "smear" originating from the US department of justice’s effort to force Apple to help unlock the iPhone 5c used by one of the two San Bernardino killers, who were inspired by Islamist militants.
The claim resurfaced in the hearing called by a House of Representatives energy and commerce subcommittee to examine potential common ground between law enforcement and the technology sector in the encryption debate.
Charles Cohen, a commander in the Indiana state police, repeated the suggestion that Apple had quietly co-operated with Beijing, which strictly regulates technology in exchange for access to its market.
But when pressed by Representative Anna Eshoo for the source of that claim, Capt Cohen only cited news reports.
"That takes my breath away," Ms Eshoo said.
"That is a huge allegation."
The justice department argued in the San Bernardino case it would be willing to demand that Apple turn over source code for its products, though at the time it only sought its co-operation in writing new software to disable phone passcode protections.
Security experts said if the US was able to obtain Apple’s source code with a court order, other governments would demand equal treatment.
After winning a court order in February, the FBI dropped its case against Apple last month, saying it had found a third party to help hack into the phone used by gunman Rizwan Farook.
The FBI relied heavily on the "services and specialised skills that we can only get through the private industry", testified FBI technology official Amy Hess.
Law-enforcement officials told Tuesday’s hearing that the use of strong default encryption on mobile devices and communications was handicapping investigators’ ability to pursue routine cases. Apple and other firms defend the technology as integral to protecting consumers.
Thomas Galati, chief of intelligence at the New York Police Department, said his investigators had been unable to open 67 Apple devices in the past six months. Those phones were implicated in 44 violent crimes including 10 homicides, Chief Galati said.