Big tech companies are joining Apple in its encryption fight

The tech industry is starting to line up with Apple in its fight against the federal government over the encryption it uses to keep iPhones secure.

Earlier this week, a U.S. magistrate ordered Apple to help investigators break into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. Apple has until next Tuesday to challenge that ruling, setting the stage for a legal clash that could determine whether tech companies or government authorities get the final say on just how secure devices like smartphones can be.

CEO Tim Cook decried the order on Tuesday, saying it would degrade iPhone security and make users more vulnerable to spies and cyber thieves. Increasingly, other prominent tech companies agree.

“We stand with @tim-cook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)!” Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey wrote in a tweet Thursday afternoon.

In a statement late Thursday, Facebook said it condemns terrorism and also appreciates the essential work of law enforcement in keeping people safe. But it said it will “fight aggressively” against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems. “These demands would create a chilling precedent and obstruct companies' efforts to secure their products,” the statement said.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai had earlier voiced support for Apple in a series of tweets. “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users' privacy,” Pichai wrote on Wednesday, adding that the case “could be a troubling precedent.”

Apple's recent iPhones use encryption security that Apple itself can't unlock. The government isn't asking Apple to help break the iPhone's encryption directly, but to disable other security measures that prevent attempts to guess the phone's passcode.

Cook argues that once such a tool is available, “the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices.” Law enforcement insists that safeguards could be employed to limit use of the workaround to the particular phone at hand. On Tuesday, Cook posted a 1,117-word open letter that contended the FBI's request might have implications “far beyond the legal case at hand.”

For months, Cook has engaged in a sharp, public debate with government officials over his company's decision to shield the data of iPhone users with strong encryption.