PHOENIX (AP) — The prosecutor’s office for most of metro Phoenix is boycotting Apple Inc.’s iPhones because of the company’s legal fight with the FBI over accessing a locked and encrypted iPhone used by a gunman in the San Bernardino, California, mass shootings last December.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said Wednesday his office will discontinue providing iPhones as replacements or upgrades for existing employees.
Montgomery said Apple’s stance puts it on the side of terrorists, not public safety, and he says Apple’s argument that privacy interests are at stake is a “corporate PR stunt” that ignores constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Cupertino, California-based company contends that helping the FBI access the phone would endanger data security for millions of people.