Apple Refuses to Unlock San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone

Taking a stand for privacy rights, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated he will not be cooperating with a magistrate’s order to hack an iPhone which belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters.

In a letter, Cook called the court’s demand “chilling” and argued that teaching law enforcement how to break into a locked iPhone would set a dangerous precedent “and undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”

“The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.”

A surprising (or not surprising) critic of Apple’s defiance is real-estate mogul, reality-TV star, and 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In a phone interview on Fox & Friends, Trump expressed his agreement with the magistrate’s order to unlock the device. He went on to say “we have to use our heads” and “we have to use common sense.”

“To think that Apple won’t allow us to get into her cellphone? Who do they think they are? No, we have to open it … I agree 100% with the courts. In that case, we should open it up. I think security overall — we have to open it up. And we have to use our heads. We have to use common sense. Somebody the other day called me a common-sense conservative. We have to use common sense. Our country has so many problems.”

Trump wasn’t convinced by Tim Cook’s dire warning:

“Apple — this is one case and this is a case that certainly we should be able to get into the phone. And we should find out what happened, why it happened, and maybe there’s other people involved. And we have to do that.”