The FBI has vehemently opposed Advanced Data Protection, a new feature in iOS 16.2 that encrypts your iPhone backups in iCloud with end-to-end encryption.
Predictably, the FBI demands “lawful access” to encrypted iCloud backups
Law
A judge rules the police need a warrant to look at your iPhone’s Lock screen
The police can no longer look at your iPhone's Lock screen without a warrant.
Apple’s creating a portal for legal law enforcement user data requests
To better handle data requests from law enforcement agencies, Apple plans on introducing a dedicated website for this purpose before the end of the year. This online portal will become the one-stop location law enforcement agencies worldwide can go to submit requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from Apple. The company's plans were recently added to a government privacy page on the Apple website.
US border security agency being sued over iPhone seizure
An American woman is suing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency after having her iPhone seized after she refused to unlock it for inspection. Rejhane Lazoja, who is Muslim, said her religious beliefs were compromised by the seizure, according to the BBC.
Former Apple employee pleads not guilty in trade secrets case
A former Apple employee accused of stealing trade secrets plead not guilty in a California court on Monday. Xiaolang Zhang, who worked on Apple's self-driving car initiative, is being prosecuted on one federal charge of Theft of Trade Secrets. His plea comes just over a week since his arrest.
Former Apple employee accused of stealing autonomous car trade secrets
A former Apple employee was arrested over the weekend and is facing federal charges of Theft of Trade Secrets. Xiaolang Zhang, a hardware engineer who recently worked for the company, was arrested on Saturday at San Jose International Airport while attempting to board a flight to China, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Apple and Samsung end their long-running patent dispute
It took seven long years, but Apple and Samsung have resolved their long-simmering design patent dispute. In a Thursday filing with the Northern District Court of California, both sides agreed to drop and settle the remaining claims and counterclaims.
This Chinese clothing brand thinks the App Store icon was stolen from them, so they’re suing Apple
Apple has been hit with yet another lawsuit, this time from Chinese clothing company KON. They believe iOS 11's new App Store icon looks a little too similar to their own brand logo.
Apple has been served with a search warrant in Texas shooter case
According to a report last week, Texas Rangers have served Apple with a search warrant in the case of the Sutherland Springs shooting.
Chinese court says Apple isn’t guilty of Siri patent infringement, overturns previous ruling
"Siri, how does it feel to be a winner?"
A Chinese appeals court has put an end to a three year patent battle over Apple's Siri voice recognition found on its iOS line. AFP reports that Apple has won an appeal in China over the patents, overturning an earlier decision that put Apple in the guilty chair.
Not Samsung this time, Apple takes Ericsson to court over LTE patents
Apple is suing Swedish-based Ericsson over LTE wireless technology patents, reports Reuters. Apple claims Ericsson's patents are not essential to industry cellular standards and that it is demanding excessive royalties for the patents.
California governor signs smartphone kill switch bill into law
A bill that requires all smartphones manufactured after July 1st of next year, and sold in California, to include a remote kill switch was signed into law this afternoon. Introduced in February of this year, the bill hopes to make mobile devices less attractive to criminals, as smartphone thefts have grown exponentially in recent years, in several major US cities.
Specifically, the new law requires that each handset prompt an authorized user during initial setup to enable a "technological solution" that, once initiated, can render the essential features of the device inoperable to an unauthorized user. The solution must be reversible, must be able to withstand a hard reset, and may consist of software, hardware, or both.