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                Apple Accuses US Government of 'Smear' Campaign

   by VOA News

   Apple has accused the U.S. federal government of intending to 'smear'
   it as the fight over whether it can be forced to help law enforcement
   access the iPhone owned by San Bernardino gunman Rizwan Farook goes on.

   "In 30 years of practice I don't think I've seen a legal brief that was
   more intended to smear the other side with false accusations and
   innuendo, and less intended to focus on the real merits of the case,"
   said Apple's General Counsel Bruce Sewell in a phone call with
   reporters on Thursday.

   Sewell disputed government accusations that Apple deliberately made
   changes to block law enforcement's requests for access, saying the
   claims were an "unsupported, unsubstantiated effort to vilify Apple
   rather than confront the issues in the case."

   The government, in its filing, cited news reports and other sources
   suggesting that by making changes to the iPhone to support Chinese
   broadband requirements, such as storing data on China's state-owned
   Telecom equipment, Apple had cooperated with Chinese authorities
   possibly facilitating state surveillance.

   "Of course that is not true, and the speculation is based on no
   substance at all," Sewell said in response. "To do this in a brief
   before a magistrate judge just shows the desperation that the
   Department of Justice now feels."

   Investigators are asking a federal judge to order Apple to write new
   software that would help unlock the iPhone used by Farook, one of the
   shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last
   December.

   Apple has refused the request saying the security features provide
   privacy to its customers by protecting them from hackers and criminals.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/apple-accuses-us-government-smear-cam
   paign-legal-fight/3231773.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/apple-accuses-us-government-smear-campaign-legal-fight/3231773.html