Tech giant Apple has denied claims that it has not provided assistance to federal investigators looking into the terror attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida, last month. Attorney General William Barr has called on Apple to help unlock the terrorist’s two iPhones.
Reuters reports that tech giant Apple recently stated that it rejects “the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance” in an investigation into a terrpr attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida last month. Apple’s statement come shortly after Attorney General William Barr called the fatal shooting of three Americans by a Saudi Air Force officer at a naval base in Florida “an act of terrorism.”
Barr called on Apple to aid in the investigation into the shooting by unlocking two iPhones involved in the case. The unlocking of iPhones has been a contentious point between Apple and the federal government for some time, coming to a head in 2016 as the tech firm was asked to unlock iPhones related to a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook told ABC News at the time that complying with it would be bad for the United States.
“Some things are hard, and some things are right, and some things are both — this is one of those things,” he said, adding that the FBI was asking for “the software equivalent of cancer.” The CEO added: “This would be bad for America. It would also set a precedent that I think many people in America would be offended by and when you think about those, which are knowns, compared to something that might be there, I believe we are making the right choice.”
However, now Apple claims to have responded to all queries from law enforcement officials in relation to the Pensacola shooting and claims it has turned over all the information that the company had access to. The firm stated that it received the first inquiry from law enforcement on January 6 but was not notified of a second iPhone involved in the case until January 8. The firm also stated that its engineering teams “recently had a call to provide additional technical assistance” to the FBI.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.