The Associated Press and two other news organizations have sued the FBI to learn about the details of the agency who got paid by the government for hacking into an iPhone of the San Bernardino killer's earlier this year.
The lawsuit was filed by the AP, Gannett (which owns USA Today), and Vice Media on 16 September 2016, in federal court in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act. It "seeks records about the FBI's contract with an unidentified vendor who provided a tool to unlock the phone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook," the AP said.
According to the AP, the suit argues that "Understanding the amount that the FBI deemed appropriate to spend on the tool, as well as the identity and reputation of the vendor it did business with, is essential for the public to provide effective oversight of government functions and help guard against potential improprieties."
A month after FBI has rejected information on records requests from the news organizations saying that it could affect "enforcement proceedings." The media organizations filed a complaint against the agency claiming that "there was no legal basis to withhold the information," and that "the public has a right to know whether the vendor has adequate security measures, is a proper recipient of government funds, and will act only in the public interest."
However, FBI spokesman Chris Allen declined to comment on the pending litigation.