Apple may be getting more time to fight the U.S. government’s efforts to have it hack a terrorist’s iPhone.
The tech giant is reportedly getting until Friday, Feb. 26—instead of Tuesday, Feb. 23—to respond to a court’s decision allowing the Justice Department to have it hack the iPhone of San Bernardino, Calif. shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter.
On Feb. 16, a Federal magistrate granted the Justice Department’s request, but Apple has been outspoken in recent days in a bid to protect user privacy.
In an open letter to Apple customers, CEO Tim Cook wrote that the decision could set a precedent for the government to implement “surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.”
“While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products,” Cook wrote. “Ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”
Farook’s attack in San Bernardino occurred on Dec. 2 and claimed the lives of 14.
Apple is No. 1 on Fortune’sWorld’s Most Admired Companies for 2016. We have reached out to the company for comment and will update this post if Apple responds.
