Presidential Hopefuls Address Apple Stance on Terror Phone

(CN) - Sen. Marco Rubio, stumping in South Carolina Wednesday morning in advance of this weekend's Republican presidential primary, said Apple's plan to fight a court order to hack an iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino terror attackers is a thorny issue that won't be easily resolved.

On Tuesday, the technology giant said it would oppose a court order that it help the FBI gain access to the iPhone, which had belonged to Rizwan Farook before the deadly Dec. 2 attacks.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the demand threatened the security of Apple's customers.

That stance drew an immediate reaction on the presidential campaign trail in South Carolina, where the candidates vying in this Saturday's Republican primary have been busily touting their national security bona fides for weeks.

Speaking to reporters after a rally in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Wednesday morning, Rubio said while there's no question a balance must be struck between security interests and privacy concerns "ultimately, , I think being a good corporate citizen is important."

"It's a tough issue," he said, adding that the government has to work closely with the tech industry to arrive at a solution.

"I believe that there is one. What it is ... I think that's something we have to work on with them, collaboratively," Rubio said.

Predictably less retrained was the response from Donald Trump, who is currently leading in the polls in South Carolina, who said Apple's unwillingness to cooperate with the government is "ridiculous hysteria."

"It's ridiculous that the government has to be put in a position where if they have information about a possible attack, we waste a second because that could be the second that kills somebody," he told reporters.

In the meantime, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said this and other, similar situations that are bound to arise should be addressed through a "Manhattan-like Project" to address issue.

Presidential Hopefuls Address Apple Stance on Terror Phone

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