The Black Lives Matter movement, along with civil rights activists like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, appear to be backing Apple's fight against creating software that would allow the FBI to hack a phone used by one of the San Bernardino, California shooters, saying the issue has a wider scope than just the one phone.
"It raises eyebrows that we, as young activists working in a specific realm, found our role in this fight between Apple and the FBI," Linda Sarsour, a member of the activist group Justice League NYC, told
The Hill.
In addition, Sarsour said, the FBI wants powers that would "most directly affect people of color, immigrant communities, Muslim communities and political activists."
Jackson wrote to Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, the judge in the case between Apple and the FBI, saying that the case "case cuts right to the heart of our right to live free from unwarranted government surveillance."
Last month, Apple refused a court order that asked the company to create a "back door" to allow the FBI to access data on an iPhone used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at a holiday party in December at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.
In addition to Jackson, about a half-dozen civil rights organizations and individuals, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi wrote a memo to Pym to voice their concerns.
The American Civil Liberties Union also says the government is watching Black Lives Matter protesters, and activists say if the FBI wins, that could lead to even more monitoring.
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