Scott Wartman

swartman@enquirer.com

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie said there are ways that wouldn't jeopardize privacy rights for the government to access the iPhone of the shooters in the December San Bernardino attack.

Apple has refused to create a backdoor for the government to access the iPhone.

Massie, a Republican who represents Northern Kentucky, told constituents Monday that if the government wants to access the iPhone, they should hire the best engineers from Apple and other tech companies to get access.

The massive budgets of the National Security Agency and FBI allow the agencies to offer double what the private sector pays, said Massie, who held an informal coffee gathering at Fort Thomas Antiques & Design Center.

"I went to MIT and the CIA recruits there," Massie said. "They've got a booth at the job fair there. They can recruit the best and brightest if they want."

The government forcing a company to write code to give them access sets a dangerous precedent, Massie said.

"If you conscript somebody into writing software, what's to keep you from conscripting someone into producing a piece of art?" Massie said.

It's not just about gaining access to this one iPhone, Massie said. It's about the government wanting to gain access to all our information, he said.

"They essentially want to outlaw privacy," Massie said. "There's more information on my cellphone about me than there was in somebody's house in their papers in the 1700s and 1800s."