“They will have to […] help our great Country,” Trump says

Jan 15, 2020 06:24 GMT  ·  By

Apple is once again under fire for its refusal to unlock iPhones for the FBI, and now even United States President Donald Trump publicly calls for the company to hack into its devices and extract the data.

The FBI has recently reached out to Apple to break into two iPhones that the shooter at a Florida navy base used before the attack, explaining that both devices were protected by a password. Apple, however, refused to unlock the iPhones, adding instead that it provided the FBI with all the data in its possession, such as information stored in the cloud.

Donald Trump, however, thinks Apple must unlock iPhones that are used by criminals, and of course, he turned to Twitter to make himself heard. And unsurprisingly, he used an iPhone to call for Apple to hack into iPhones.

“We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and 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,” Donald Trump tweeted.

Donald Trump is a long-time iPhone user and he typically uses Apple’s smartphone to tweet.

Apple says it worked closely with the FBI

United States Attorney General William Barr also wants Apple to help the FBI access the data on the iPhones, telling the New York Times earlier this week that Apple hasn’t provided any valuable information to investigators.

Apple, on the other hand, says it worked closely with the FBI since the attack happened.

“We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation. Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing. We responded to each request promptly, often within hours, sharing information with FBI offices in Jacksonville, Pensacola and New York. The queries resulted in many gigabytes of information that we turned over to investigators. In every instance, we responded with all of the information that we had,” Apple said in a statement.

Despite these high-profile requests to unlock the iPhones, Apple is expected to stand by its original decision and refuse to hack the devices.