Thread: Donald Trump calls for Apple boycott over encryption

By Agency3:30AM GMT 20 Feb 2016

Republican presidential frontrunner is calling for the computer giant to comply with US government demands to unlock the iPhone of a suspect

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump called on Friday for a boycott of Apple until the computer giant complies with US government demands to unlock the iPhone of a suspect in the San Bernardino attacks.

"Apple ought to give the security for that phone, OK?" Mr Trump told a campaign rally in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, one day before the state holds its hotly contested Republican primary.

"What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such time as they give that security number," he said. "I just thought of it. Boycott Apple."

The government sought a court order Friday to force Apple to help unlock the iPhone as part of the probe into last year's San Bernardino attacks, escalating a legal showdown over encryption.

In response, a senior Apple executive, speaking with reporters on condition of anonymity, characterised the Justice Department's filing as an effort to argue its case in the media before the company has a chance to respond.

Another senior Apple executive said Congress was the right place for a debate over encryption, not a courtroom.

The executive said Apple was stunned that such a legal request had come from the government rather than a country with weaker traditions of protecting privacy and civil liberties.

Apple had pledged this week to fight a magistrate's order to assist in unlocking the phone used by one of the shooters.

"First of all, the phone's not even owned by this young thug that killed all these people. The phone's owned by the government," Mr Trump said.

Suspect Syed Farook, who was killed in a shootout with authorities after the attack that left 14 dead, worked for the county in California where the December rampage occurred.

Mr Trump lashed out at Apple chief executive Tim Cook, saying he was "looking to do a big number, probably to show how liberal he is."

The motion brought by the Justice Department sought to debunk Apple's claim that cooperating with the FBI probe would undermine overall security for its devices, and laid out the legal case for technical assistance.

Mr Trump followed up his rally boycott calls with a series of posts on Twitter, in which he said he uses both Apple and Samsung telephones, but "I'll only be using Samsung until they give info."

"Hopefully others will follow suit," he added.

At his final rally on the eve of the primary, he again urged voters to boycott Apple.

"They don't want to open up the phones. Give me a break," he sneered.

But the billionaire businessman, who has spoken for months about luring American businesses back to the US and punishing those that refuse, signalled he still wanted the Cupertino, California-based Apple to bring manufacturing jobs back.

"I want to see the day when Apple makes its products on our land," Trump said to applause. "We're going to bring our jobs back to this country."


Donald Trump calls for Apple boycott over encryption - Telegraph

I'm mixed on this one. I adore Trump and know where he's coming from. I hate Apple because they're making almost all of their products overseas and back-hauling them into the US instead of making what they sell to our market in the United States which is how it should be.

But, the government shouldn't have requested a court order that results in giving the government the key that will open up all IPhones, so Cook is right to reject it. What the government should have done is ask Apple to develop a key to open that phone, give the phone to Apple to unlock it and pull off all the data, Apple gives the data and the phone back to the government with a bill for the cost, and then Apply destroys the key so it can't be used to open other IPhones. Maybe they could develop the key with a self-destruct mechanism. They have stuff like this in James Bond movies, so Apple can probably make that happen.

Here's the problem. The government is sitting on a powder key it created by letting Muslims into the country to begin with. We know that. Furthermore, they let the fiance in under false pretenses without even doing their jobs as the law requires on her visa application. The story I'm hearing is this IPhone is actually owned by his employer which is the government in California who apparently didn't vet their job applicants very well either.

So we have a Muslim terrorist problem caused by at least 2 levels of government, the federal level that let them in, the local government that employed them and gave them an encryption protected IPhone to use in terrorist attacks without tracing.

And now Apple is the bad guy? No. They aren't. Not in this case, not for this.

The two governments are responsible for this, so do as I suggest and pay YUUUUGE. Maybe if our governments have to come up with the money to pay for their own stupidity, both federal and in California, then maybe they'll decide letting Muslims into the country, hiring them and giving them IPhones to use in committing terrorist acts isn't worth it, after all.

But I'm okay with an Apple Boycott for producing their products in China!!

GO TRUMP!!

Oh Lord! Apple is actually defending the San Bernandino terrorists that gunned down all those Christian and Jews!

W

3/28/16

FBI unlocks San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, drops Apple legal fight

It seems to me that the government has a right to access any part of communications when a warrant is served. Why do they need Apple's permission to de-encrypt their phones? Or is it a technical issue? That's hard to believe when the government has resources like the NSA, whose whole job is de-encryption, code breaking.

Meanwhile, always remember that Apple can break into your phone even when the government can't. But of course Apple would never do that, would they?

Originally Posted by pkskyali

. . . Why do they need Apple's permission to de-encrypt their phones? Or is it a technical issue? That's hard to believe when the government has resources like the NSA, whose whole job is de-encryption, code breaking.

The F.B.I. wasn't asking permission they were seeking court ordered technical information on how to do it.
The government has now gone to an outside source, to people who told them they could access the phone for them.
Now the government doesn't have to go to court every time they want access to a phone because they just bought access info from the outside source.

Apple Unlocked iPhones for the Feds 70 Times Before
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@Judge Forces Apple to Help Unlock San Bernardino Shooter iPhone

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

The F.B.I. wasn't asking permission they were seeking court ordered technical information on how to do it.

The government has now gone to an outside source, to people who told them they could access the phone for them.

Now the government doesn't have to go to court every time they want access to a phone because they just bought access info from the outside source.

I'm not sure exactly what happened here, but it sounds like the FBI went to the courts twice. They must have went once just to get a warrant to access the files. They had to go to the courts a second time to force Apple to give up the means to get into the phone.

The FBI still needs a warrant to access your communications anywhere, your cell phone, or your written correspondence in the mail or your land line phone.

It's kind of odd that the FBI had to go begging to Apple for the code to get into the phone. You would think they had access to the NSA, whose whole job it is to break codes in communications.

FBI Hacking of iPhone Raises Questions About Method, Who Helped