Elizabeth Weise

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Privacy and security supporters held a rally outside Apple’s San Francisco store Wednesday to protest the U.S. government's demand that Apple give the FBI a backdoor to hack into an iPhone recovered from Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the attackers in the December San Bernardino, Calif., shooting that killed 14 people.

“We want to show Apple that people are standing with them,” said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based cyber-liberties group.

“Once Apple does it, others people are going to come and say, ‘Apple, do it for me,'" she said, noting what she called a slippery slope towards government intrusion. "How do they say no the next time?”

Protester Brittany Morton, 24, of San Francisco said she was especially pleased with Apple CEO Tim Cook’s letter Wednesday saying Apple opposed the government’s efforts to remove security features from the phone, which he felt would set a dangerous precedent.

“I thought it was a bold move by Tim," Morton said. "I want to support him."

The rally was organized by EFF and Fight for the Future, a digital rights group.

Apple could break into its iPhones in an afternoon, say experts

“This is being portrayed as a choice between privacy and security, but from our perspective, any attempt by the government to weaken security puts us all at risk,” said Evan Greer, Fight for the Future spokesperson.

Rallies are planned nationally on Tuesday, but organized another rally Wednesday because there was such a strong outpouring of anger and concern on social media.