Against the backdrop of the now-vacated San Bernardino iPhone encryption case, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has found that more than 70 orders have been filed by the US government agencies, since 2008, requiring tech biggies Apple and Google to assist law enforcement officials in unlocking mobile devices.

According to the ALCU findings, the government agencies have been applying for orders under the All Writs Act since 2008, to compel Apple and Google to help law enforcement agencies crack the mobile devices of their customers.

The ACLU has disclosed that it has been able to track at least 76 confirmed cases in 22 US states in which government agencies used the All Writs Act to force the tech companies to hack a mobile device for law enforcement agencies.

All the cases -- in different US states -- in which the government has compelled Apple and Google to unlock mobiles device in the name of the All Writs Act have been plotted by the ALCU on an interactive map which was released by the organization on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, drawing attention to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's assertion that its iPhone encryption scuffle with Apple limited in scope, ALCU attorney Eliza Sweren-Becker said: "The FBI wants you to think that it will use the All Writs Act only in extraordinary cases to force tech companies to assist in the unlocking of phones. Turns out, these kinds of orders have actually become quite ordinary."