Tim Cook: Apple Will Not Create 'Software Equivalent of Cancer'

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the gadget giant would be forced to create the “software equivalent of cancer” if it abided by a federal order to help the FBI unlock an iPhone linked to a terrorist.

“We would never write it, we have never written it,” he said in an interview with ABC News. Helping the U.S. government unlock the iPhone linked to one of the shooters in December’s San Bernardino, Calif., mass shooting would be “bad for America” because it could expose users at large to “incredible vulnerabilities.”

Cook thrust Apple’s case against the FBI and Department of Justice into a international spotlight last week when he said the company would refuse to help the FBI crack the San Bernardino phone.

Also Read: Apple vs. FBI: 9 Updates in the Fight Over a Killer's Locked iPhone

During the ABC interview, Cook said of the thousands of emails he’s received on the matter, the single largest group is people in the military who support Apple’s position. But he said that public opinion wasn’t the main issue: “This is not about a poll. This is about the future.”

He reiterated Apple’s stance that this is a debate best left to lawmakers and not the court system, and said he planned to talk to President Barack Obama directly to put the debate “on a better path.”

The conflict centers on an iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, who, with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people. To access data on the iPhone, the Justice Department secured a federal court order telling Apple to develop software that makes it easier to hack its passcode, but Apple says creating such a key could threaten the security of consumers’ digital privacy at large.

Also Read: Why Apple's Refusal to Unlock a Murderer's Phone Matters to You

“Think about what else [a court] could ask us to write. Maybe it’s an operating system for surveillance, maybe it’s the ability for the law enforcement to turn on the camera,” he said. “I don’t know we are this stops, but I do know that this is not what should be happening in this country. This is not what should be happening in America.”

Who's Who in the Apple Vs. FBI Feud (Photos)

Tim Cook

Apple's CEO sparked headlines by refusing to help the FBI unlock an iPhone linked to a deadly mass shooting, shining a spotlight on a long-simmering tension between protecting either digital privacy or public safety from attacks
Getty Images
Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik

The couple killed 14 people in December's mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Using a warrant to searching a car linked to the husband, Farook, law enforcement discovered a passcode-protected iPhone. They want to bypass security blockers to peek into the phone's data for clues about associates or possible future attacks.
U.S. Government
James Comey

The FBI's director defended the agency's request that Apple help crack the shooter's iPhone, saying investigators wouldn't be able to look survivors in their eyes if the FBI didn't pursue the lead.
Getty Images
Eileen M. Decker

The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Decker is the top Justice Department official fighting on behalf of the FBI in court. Decker said the court's order would help investigators uncover the motives behind the attack. “We have made a solemn commitment to the victims and their families that we will leave no stone unturned," she said.
Department of Justice
Donald Trump

The Republican presidental candidate seized on the standoff pitting Apple against national security interests, calling for a boycott of the company until it helps unlock the phone.
Getty Images
Edward Snowden

The former intelligence contractor, who leaked documents in 2013 that exposed warrantless government surveillance, called the face-off "the most important tech case in a decade" and criticized the FBI for creating a world where Apple protects citizens' rights, rather than the other way around.
Praxis Films
Sundar Pichai

Google's CEO, who is instrumental in the world's other major smartphone operating system besides Apple's, was the first major figure in Silicon Valley to express support for Cook. He said requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data "could be a troubling precedent."
Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg

The CEO of Facebook, the world's biggest social network, said his company was “sympathetic” to Apple. “We believe in encryption,” he said.
Getty Images
John McAfee

The anti-virus software businessman, who is known for his own tangles with law enforcement, said he and his team of hackers would break into Farook's iPhone for the FBI at no charge, to eliminate the need for Apple to develop another way in. "I would eat my shoe... if we could not break the encryption on the San Bernardino phone," he said.

1 of 9

Apple and the U.S. government are facing off over a killer terrorist’s locked iPhone. Here are the main figures in the case

Tim Cook

Apple's CEO sparked headlines by refusing to help the FBI unlock an iPhone linked to a deadly mass shooting, shining a spotlight on a long-simmering tension between protecting either digital privacy or public safety from attacks

View In Gallery

Who's Who in the Apple Vs. FBI Feud (Photos)

7DAYFREETRIAL

7
DAY
FREE
TRIAL