The case involving a court order demanding Apple help the FBI unlock the iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters is "unlikely to be a trailblazer" for setting a precedent for other 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 U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee hearing examining worldwide threats.
While the case "will be instructive for other courts," larger policy questions about reasonable law enforcement access to encrypted data will likely need to be resolved by Congress and others, Comey said.