Apple has "an obligation" to protect user data and privacy, chief
executive
Tim Cook said Monday, reaffirming his stand in a high-profile
court showdown with the US government on encryption.
Cook was speaking
at an Apple product unveiling at the company's headquarters, one day
before a court hearing on a hotly contested FBI effort to force the
company to help break into the iPhone of a shooter involved in a deadly
December attack.
"We need to decide as a nation how much power the
government should have over our data and our privacy," Cook told the
crowd gathered for the event.
"We believe strongly we have an
obligation to help protect your data and your privacy. We owe it to our
customers. We will not shrink from this responsiblity."
Cook's
remarks were the latest in a battle with the US government over efforts
to compel Apple to help the FBI break into the iPhone of one of the
attackers in last year's deadly shooting rampage in San Bernardino,
California.
Apple, backed by a broad coalition of technology
giants like Google, Facebook and Yahoo, argues that the FBI is seeking a
"back door" into all iPhones as part of the probe into the December 2
massacre that left 14 people dead.
Because of the iPhone's
encryption, Apple contends it would need to build a weaker operating
system to help the FBI crack the phone's passcode.
The US Justice Department argues that it is making a "modest" demand that could help reveal vital evidence in a terror case.
An
FBI victory could serve as a legal precedent backing requests for
access to iPhones by law enforcement agencies throughout the United
States.
A hearing was set for Tuesday before a magistrate in a
federal court in Riverside, California. Whatever the decision, the
ruling is likely to get additional hearings before the region's appeals
court and possibly the US Supreme Court.
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