Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a boycott against Apple until it complies with a U.S. government-mandated court order.
The court order calls the company to assist the FBI in unlocking an iPhone that belonged to one of the suspects behind the San Bernardino shooting, which left 14 people dead last year.
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First of all, Apple ought to give [authorities] the security to that phone.
“First of all, Apple ought to give [authorities] the security to that phone, ” Trump told a crowd at a South Carolina rally on Friday. “What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until they give that security number. I just thought of that—boycott Apple.”
Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
But, according to the Washington Post, Trump has sent at least one tweet using iPhone since his boycott proposal The Post captured a screenshot of tweet written by Trump on Friday, showing he used Twitter for iPhone.
MacRumors captured a screenshot of Trump’s iPhone-sent tweet.
Donald Trump Calls for Apple Boycott While Tweeting With an iPhonehttps://t.co/ur0XGVCGUV by @rsgnl pic.twitter.com/xpSN8V9nF3
— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) February 19, 2016
Trump wrote a tweet about a half and hour later, saying that he uses “both iPhone & Samsung, ” adding that if “Apple doesn’t give info to authorities on the terrorists I’ll only be using Samsung until they give info.”
I use both iPhone & Samsung. If Apple doesn’t give info to authorities on the terrorists I’ll only be using Samsung until they give info.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Several days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a statement that the firm is opposing a federal judge’s order to provide the FBI with security software to get into one of the San Bernardino suspect’s iPhones.
“The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand, ” Cook wrote, adding that “compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.”
Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.
He added: “Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.”
Apple has until Feb. 26 to comply with the order, said Judge Sheri Pym, who issued the court order.
And on Friday, the government made clear that it was open to less intrusive options in a new legal filing intended to blunt public criticism by Cook.
“Apple may maintain custody of the software, destroy it after its purpose under the order has been served, refuse to disseminate it outside of Apple and make clear to the world that it does not apply to other devices or users without lawful court orders, ” the Justice Department told Judge Pym. “No one outside Apple would have access to the software required by the order unless Apple itself chose to share it.”
