Apple is remaining steadfast in blocking an FBI request to create an iPhone encryption ‘backdoor’, and one politician isn’t happy about it.
Donald Trump has called for a boycott on Apple products until they comply with the FBI.
The US Presidential Candidate urged a room full of supporters to snub the Californian tech giant at a rally in South Carolina.
Trump’s apparent angst is in relation to an FBI request to help authorities break into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently wrote an open letter detailing why that was a bad idea, but Trump doesn’t seem to care.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
“What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such time as they give that information,” Trump pleaded. “How do you like that? I just thought of it. Boycott Apple.”
“The phone’s not even owned by this young thug that killed all these people,” Trump continued. “But Tim Cook is looking to do a big number, probably to show how liberal he is.”
“But Apple should give up, they should get the security or find other people,” he added.
Trump also posted the following tweet:
https://twitter.com/statuses/700796528844103680
The Republican then admitted to using both an iPhone and Samsung, and threatened to drop the former altogether if Apple didn’t “give info to authorities on the terrorists”.
Check it out:
https://twitter.com/statuses/700795170023825408
However, there has been widespread criticism over the US government’s attempts to circumvent iPhone security, including Apple top brass.
“The US government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create,” explains Tim Cook, in his open letter. “They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”
The Apple iPhone 6S
He adds: “And Ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”
Are you team Cook or team Trump? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.