Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple until the tech giant helps unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino killers.
Apple has clashed with the DoJ over a court order forcing the company to help break the encryption on one of its phones.
On February 19, the DoJ called Apple’s refusal a “marketing strategy”.
Apple said it will not help break into the phone, citing wider privacy concerns for its users.
The phone belonged to one of the two people who opened fire at an office event in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015. Fourteen people were killed in the attack.
Speaking at a campaign rally, Donald Trump said: “Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information.”
On February 18, a court ordered the tech giant to help break the encryption.
The government has called the request narrow and argued it is only focused on this particular iPhone.
The DoJ filed another motion in court on February 19 after Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would continue to refuse the order.
A California court has set March 22 for the hearing.
In a letter to customers published on Apple’s website, Tim Cook called the implications of the order “chilling”.
“While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”
