On the case of unlocking theSyed Farook's iPhone, one of the killers of the San Bernardino massacre in California on December 2, 2015, the UN also takes the field and takes the defense of Apple against the FBI. A statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ràad Al Hussein explains the position of the United Nations: "To solve a security problem involving a case of decryption, the authorities risk opening a Pandora's box, which could have very negative implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security. A successful case against Apple in the US would set a precedent that could make it impossible for the company or any other major international telecommunications company to safeguard the privacy of its customers anywhere in the world. It is a potential gift to authoritarian regimes and criminal hackers."
The commissioner, while assuring full support to the FBI in its investigations, recalled that “There are many other ways to investigate whether these killers had accomplices without forcing Apple to create software to weaken the security features of their phones”. As reported by the New York Times, about forty companies and organizations support the Cupertino giant. These also include the big names in hi-tech Google, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Linkedin, Yahoo. The American Civil Liberties Union and two other privacy associations: Access Now and the Wickr Foundation, also presented written interventions in favor of Apple to judge Sheri Pym who is handling the case. The same has been done by the UN special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye who in a document published on BuzzFeed News declared: “Cryptography allows for zones of freedom. Where states impose illegal censorship, the use of encryption and anonymity can empower individuals to access information and ideas."
