Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he supports his former company in its controversial stance against the FBI.
A federal magistrate judge ordered that Apple must help the FBI break into one of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhones. But Tim Cook said Apple will not comply with the order, because it would set a bad precedent.
“I stand with Tim Cook,” Wozniak told CNNMoney. “We have to hold out our humanity and not be swayed from thinking things out by an emotional incident here or there.”
Wozniak said that creating a way into a customer’s iPhone for the FBI could end up paving a way for hackers to break into other iPhones.
But even if Apple were able to break into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone without creating a backdoor, Wozniak said he believes Apple still shouldn’t comply with the court order.
“Such breaking of privacy, in this one case or in the more important general case, doesn’t stop such crimes or terrorist acts,” he said. “It just lets us peek after the fact for information that can even be used in political ways.”
Wozniak said he couldn’t recall whether Apple had defied any court orders during his time there. Though he’s technically still an Apple employee, Wozniak hasn’t had a full-time role at the company since 1985.