We’ve seen this movie before. The FBI might call on Apple to unlock the iPhone belonging to indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams whose phone was seized by the G-men last November 7th. Just the day before, Adams claims to have changed the passcode on his device and doesn’t remember the new one. Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective, called the locked phone a “speed bump” in the federal investigation. “I think tech-savvy investigators would still be able to get into the phone anyway . . . But it will slow down the investigation,” Alcazar said.
“If [Adams’] phone is where the treasure trove of evidence is contained, and [investigators] can’t get into it, that might be the one thing that saves him from going to prison.”-Jefferey Greco, criminal defense attorney located in New York City
Adam’s Apple could be holding information related to his indictment. | Image credit-NY Daily News
At the start of 2020, Apple found itself in a familiar scenario when the FBI once again approached Apple about unlocking a pair of iPhones belonging to a terrorist. This time, the iPhone owner was Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, the man considered responsible for the death of three men at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida late in 2019. The FBI eventually unlocked the phones without Apple’s help.
Now here we are in 2024 and once again law enforcement is calling on Apple to open Mayor Eric Adam’s iPhone. Defense attorney Greco believes that Apple’s response to the FBI will be something like, “That’s between you and the user. We’re not getting involved. We protect our users’ right to privacy.”