Donald Trump has accused Apple of “refusing to unlock” phones used by “killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements”.
It’s part of an ongoing row over US government demands for Apple to unlock two iPhones connected to last month’s shooting at a Pensacola, Florida naval base.
The requests are part of an FBI investigation into the shooting, which left three dead and eight injured.
In a furious tweet, Mr Trump wrote: “We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues.
“Yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements.
“They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
The tweet follows comments yesterday from the US Attorney-General, who declared the attack by a Saudi cadet as an act of Jihadist terror.
William Barr urged the tech giant to unlock two mobile phones used by gunman Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who killed three sailors in Florida last month and wounded eight others.
Mr Barr made the heated comments at a press conference, where he blasted the December 6 shooting as an “act of terrorism” motivated by “jihadist ideology”.
The Attorney-General also heavily criticised Apple for providing no “substantive assistance” to the ongoing investigation.
But the tech company says creating a “backdoor” in iPhones would set a dangerous precedent for user privacy and security, compromising the security of all devices.
Responding to the anger, Apple said it had helped the FBI with its investigations.
“Within hours of the FBI’s first request on December 6th, we produced a wide variety of information associated with the investigation,” Apple said in a ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
