Despite its victory in a New York court yesterday, Apple may not be so successful elsewhere in fighting against federal authorities over iPhone encryption battle.

France is considering an amendment to a law that would fine the big tech companies a Million Euro ($1.08 Million) fine for every smartphone refused to be unlocked. This would impact Google as well.

France seized 8 smartphones last year in terror investigations, but the authorities were unable to access them.

Yann Galut, a member of France’s Socialist Party, said: "Only money will force these extremely powerful companies like Apple and Google to comply. They are hiding behind a supposed privacy protection, but they’re quick to make commercial use of personal data that they’re collecting."

Other countries are watching the events unfold in the U.S. to see which direction the courts go with the case of the San Bernardino case and the need for strong protections built into smartphone devices.

Source: The Hacker News