US Republican nominee hopeful Donald Trump has weighed in on the feud between the FBI and Apple.
The battle concerns whether Apple should unlock the iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernadino massacre. When the FBI demanded Apple do so, CEO Tim Cook refused, writing an open letter to customers explaining his reasoning. It seems Trump isn’t convinced.
“To think Apple won’t allow us to get into her cellphone?” he said during an interview on Fox and Friends (via Yahoo! News). “Who do they think they are?”
The FBI is demanding Apple make a new version of iOS that lacks the security features of the consumer version. Cook says that “in the wrong hands… this would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.”
He explained that Apple “have no sympathy with terrorists”, and that disobeying the FBI “is not something we take lightly”. He described the demand as “chilling”, and that complying “would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”
Read more: Apple vs the FBI: Why is Apple so upset?
Trump rejected this argument, insisting that – as the FBI claims – making a backdoor to iOS would only be used once to find out all they could about the shooter.
Trump has made demands of tech companies before. Last month, he claimed he would make Apple start producing its gadgets in the US to bring back jobs he claims have been lost to China. At the end of last year, he called on Microsoft founder Bill Gates to shut down parts of the internet to stop terrorists spreading their message and recruiting followers.
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Editorial independence
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.