Apple, US govt to face off in court over iPhone privacy

The lock screen of an Apple iPhone 6 is seen in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, 20 February 2016. Apple and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation are currently at odds over creating software to unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook without erasing the phone's data. Apple chief executive Tim Cook refused the judge's order in an open letter posted on the company's website 16 February 2016 shortly after Judge Sheri Pym ordered the company to help the FBI access data they believe is stored on the iPhone linked to the San Bernardino, California, terrorists. The December 2 attack in San Bernardino was carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, at a holiday party at the county office where Farook worked. Fourteen people were killed. Police killed Farook and Malik later that same day in a shoot-out. The FBI wants Apple to help it hack into Farook's iPhone by building a new version of the iOS software that would circumvent security features and install the software on the iPhone, which was recovered during the investigation. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

LOS ANGELES: The US government and Apple will face off in court on March 22 in a closely-watched case that could have wide-reaching implications on digital security and privacy. 

The crucial hearing before a federal judge in Southern California focuses on the battle between the tech giant and federal investigators who want help from Apple to unlock an iPhone linked to one of the shooters in the December terror attack in San Bernardino, California.