Box to file amicus brief in support of Apple alongside Facebook, Google, Microsoft

Cloud file syncing and sharing company Box today is announcing that it will formally show its support for Apple in the ongoing Apple-FBI encryption battle by filing an amicus curiae brief in Apple’s defense.

A Box spokesperson told VentureBeat that the company would file the brief later today alongside Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

“The FBI request of Apple to create a backdoor into the iPhone for Law Enforcement is exactly the kind of feature that will eventually be used against us,” Box chief security officer Joel de la Garza wrote in a blog post today. “Given how important technology is today in our lives and economy, an effective security strategy, crafted only with short-term in mind, is a liability we simply can’t afford.”

Other technology companies and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have shown their support for Apple in the case.

Box has previously launched products that keep information encrypted.

For an overview of the Apple-FBI case, check out our timeline.

Update at 12:20 p.m. Pacific: Mozilla said in a blog post that it will join in on an amicus brief along with “Google, Nest Labs, Facebook, WhatsApp, Evernote, Snapchat, and Microsoft.”

Update at 12:47 p.m. Pacific: Twitter general counsel Vijaya Gadde announced in a tweet that the company has “filed a brief in support of #Apple.”