Phil Schiller iPhone 11 keynoteSource: Apple

What you need to know

  • Steve Bannon has said that President Trump will "drop the hammer" on tech companies that don't cooperate with investigators seeking information.
  • He further suggested that Apple should treat the tweets of President Trump "like a papal bull."
  • When asked if he thought it was appropriate for the government to force Apple to provide backdoor access to phones he said: "Yes, a hundred percent".

In an interview with CNBC, Steve Bannon has stated that he believes it is 100% appropriate for the US government to force Apple to provide backdoor access to iPhones.

In wake of ever-growing chatter around the FBI and Apple's role in assisting the government with unlocking the phones of criminals, Bannon interviewed with the network on Wednesday, January 15.

When asked "Do you believe it's appropriate for the US government to force Apple to provide a.. backdoor access to those phones?" he replied:

"Yes, a hundred percent, I don't think there's any doubt."

Any such tool would work on every iPhone, not just the phones in this story, an unbelievably dangerous prospect that would severely undermine the security of iOS.

When asked if he thought that was antithetical to US criticism of the Chinese government and its relationship with Huawei, he disputed the notion on the basis that Apple remains a private company, in contrast, he said: "Huawei is the PLA." (People's Liberation Army)

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On Tim Cook and Donald Trump, he said that recent events would change their relationship dramatically and that the President was going to "drop the hammer on this." He further said:

"If I were the guys at Apple, I would pay attention to President Trump's tweets... I would treat his tweets like a papal bull."

Bannon is of course not part of President Trump's administration and does not speak on its behalf, however, the very suggestion that it would be appropriate for a government to force a private company to turn on its users in the manner suggested is a pretty bold and evocative statement.

The airwaves have been awash with this story over the last week or so. Most recently it emerged that the FBI reportedly extracted data from a locked iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2019, further calling into question the need for Apple to create a backdoor to iOS.