Apple unlocking case will not be 'trailblazer' for legal precedent: FBI chief

[WASHINGTON] The case involving a court order to Apple to help the FBI unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters is "unlikely to be a trailblazer" for setting a legal precedent in future cases, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel Thursday.

The complex and evolving nature of mobile phone software will limit how broadly the case can be applied, Comey said during a US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing examining worldwide threats.

While the case "will be instructive for other courts,"broader policy questions about reasonable law enforcement access to encrypted data will likely need to be resolved by Congress and others, Comey said.

REUTERS