Her son was killed in the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre — but Carole Adams agrees with Apple that personal privacy trumps the feds’ demands for new software to break into iPhones, including the phone of her son’s killer.
The mom of Robert Adams — a 40-year-old environmental health specialist who was shot dead by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife — told The Post on Thursday that the constitutional right to privacy “is what makes America great to begin with.”
She justified the tech giant’s decision to fight a federal court order to create software to get around the iPhones’ self-destructing data lock — which would allow the feds to retrieve personal banking passwords, photos and other information.
Apple CEO Tim Cook explained on Wednesday why he’s fighting the court order.
“The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices,” he said.
The government says the software would help the FBI break into Farook’s iPhone and possibly retrieve details on terror cells and further attacks.
‘This is what makes America great to begin with, that we abide by a constitution that gives us the right of privacy…’
- Carole Adams, mother of San Bernardino victim
Still, Adams said such software could undermine the Constitution.
“This is what separates us from communism, isn’t it? The fact we have the right to privacy,” she said. “I think Apple is definitely within their rights to protect the privacy of all Americans.
“This is what makes America great to begin with, that we abide by a constitution that gives us the right of privacy, the right to bear arms, and the right to vote.”
The feds say they want to hack into Farook’s mobile device to retrace the ISIS supporter’s steps on Dec. 2, when he and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people before being fatally gunned down in a shootout with cops.
California US Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym has ordered Apple to create a back door for the FBI to bypass an iPhone feature that destroys data after 10 consecutive unsuccessful unlock attempts.
Adams said she understands the FBI’s need to search Farook’s phone, but it has to be done without putting others at risk.