War Of Words Between Apple And FBI Continue Over Unlocking Terrorist's iPhone
RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA.com) — Apple and the FBI continue to debate over whether the tech company should help the government find information on Syed Farook's iPhone.
So far, Apple has not changed their stance.
Apple has until Friday to comply to a court order. The company says everyone has the right to privacy, even a terrorist.
CBS2's Greg Mills spoke to people who live in the Inland Empire and asked if a terrorist should expect a right to privacy.
"I believe in the right to privacy and I don't think the government should infringe on that," said Wyvon Smith of Rancho Cucamonga.
Mills said he found more support for the government closer to San Bernardino where the terrorist attack killed 14 people and injured 30 others.
"I understand privacy. But in certain situations we need to let those go for the good of the community. We want everyone to be safe," said Mercedes Munoz of Pomona.
"We should look into carefully find any more information about terrorist groups or anything else that might be a threat to United States security," she added.
Every person he spoke to in the Inland Empire said they had privacy concerns but don't believe those should be extended to those people intending to do other citizens harm.
The FBI and San Bernardino County officials have said they teamed up to get into Farook's iCloud account -- his phone was also county issued. But Apple has drawn a line saying if they could break into the phone, the government might keep asking in other cases. The FBI insists that isn't on their radar.
On Tuesday in Los Angeles and in more than 30 other cities around the globe, supporters of Apple plan to rally at their stores.
On Sunday, FBI Director Jim Comey issued a statement about the "San Bernardino matter."
It read in part, "The San Bernardino litigation isn't about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message. It is about the victims and justice. Fourteen people were slaughtered and many more had their lives and bodies ruined. We owe them a thorough and professional investigation under law. That's what this is. The American people should expect nothing less from the FBI."
Comey added, "The particular legal issue is actually quite narrow. The relief we seek is limited and its value increasingly obsolete because the technology continues to evolve. We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly. That's it. We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land. I hope thoughtful people will take the time to understand that. Maybe the phone holds the clue to finding more terrorists. Maybe it doesn't. But we can't look the survivors in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we don't follow this lead."
