At Automattic, we’re very mindful of the trust our users place in us to keep their information private and secure, and we work hard to build systems, software, and legal policies to safeguard that information. We’re also very mindful of threats to user trust and security, and we believe that the recent federal court order, issued against Apple in the San Bernardino case, poses just such a threat.

The order requires Apple to write code to deliberately weaken standard security measures on an iPhone, in furtherance of the federal criminal investigation. Though the investigation is very important, the court’s order could pose a great threat to the security of all digitally stored information, and undermine the trust that users have placed in companies, like Automattic or Apple, to keep their sensitive personal information and data safe.

Apple has challenged the order, and today, Automattic has joined many leading Internet and technology companies in filing an amicus…