WASHINGTON: Donald Trump yesterday (Wednesday) criticised Apple for refusing to allow the FBI to access the iPhone of a terror attacker, with the Republican primary candidate insisting national security must take precedence over privacy fears.
Apple and the US government were locked in a showdown yesterday after a judge sided with investigators who want to mine data from the mobile phone used by Syed Farook who, along with his wife, killed 14 people in December in San Bernardino, California. "To think that Apple won't allow us to get into her [his] cell phone - who do they think they are?" said Mr Trump.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a statement that the company would not comply with what he called a "dangerous" case of government overreach that could provide hackers with a "master key" to Apple's encryption.
"The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancement that protect our customers - including tens of millions of American citizens - from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals," he said.
The US Justice Department countered that the victims of the terrorist attack deserved an investigation that "will leave no stone unturned". Mr Trump agreed, saying "we have to use common sense". He suggested Apple's resistance stemmed from "hysteria... about privacy and the government".
"It's ridiculous that the government has to be put in a position where if
they have information about a possible attack, we waste a second because that could be the second that kills somebody," he added.
Mr Trump later continued painting himself as tough on terror, telling a crowd in South Carolina, where the next Republican primary takes place on Saturday, that "torture works". "Don't tell me it doesn't work. Torture works, OK folks?" he said.
The billionaire repeated his pledge to allow waterboarding. "But we should go much stronger than waterboarding," he said. "That's the way I feel. They're chopping off heads. Believe me, we should go much stronger because our country's in trouble, we're in danger."
New polls show Mr Trump trouncing his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination with leads nationally and in South Carolina.
Jeb Bush, Mr Trump's frequent sparring partner in the Republican contest, was mocked for posting on Twitter a photograph of a handgun with "Gov Jeb Bush" engraved on the barrel, with the caption "America."
It landed Mr Bush on the front page of the New York Daily News under the headline "Dolt.45". The controversial tweet was ridiculed as an attempt to pander to the pro-gun Republican base in South Carolina.