Apple accused of trying to make iPhones 'warrant-proof' in FBI case

The Justice Department reasserted claims that the tech company is putting its brand ahead of safety in formal legal rebuttal over landmark privacy case

The US Justice Department has used its formal legal rebuttal against Apple in the landmark privacy case to accuse the company of seeking to usurp power from the US government in a bid to make its iPhones "warrant-proof".

Using phrases such as "technological fiat" and claiming Apple was posturing as "the primary guardian of Americans' privacy", the government reasserted that the company is putting its brand ahead of public safety.