Grieving father told to get court order to access son’s MacBook

A MOURNING father has started a campaign to access his deceased son’s music, photos and “memories” after he was told by Apple to get a court order to access the data.

Colin Hehir, whose son Morgan was stabbed in an unprovoked attack while on a Hallowe’en night out last year, said he was told by the technology company that “data could not be transferred” without the order.

Mr Hehir said that he should not have to go to court to access his son’s laptop. “We can close down Morgan’s bank account with his death certificate, so why would I need a court order to access his computer,” he said.

A spokesman for Apple said that due to strict privacy laws it could not hand over data to the Hehir family without legal authority. He said: “Apple takes the privacy and security of customer’s personal information very seriously”, explaining that in some instances customers may not want their private data transferred to other people.

Morgan Hehir, who was 20, worked as a hospital clerk but was also a graffiti artist and musician. His father said he composed music on his laptop as well as producing friend’s compositions. “He sent snapshots of his music and him messing around to his friends, he would send them little skits, so we know there is music on there as well as his photos. It’s all on this MacBook,” Mr Hehir said.”

The issue hinges on the fact that Morgan encrypted his laptop using Apple’s software. “We can’t get past the password. So many people have sent me YouTube links to decrypt it, but they haven’t worked,” Mr Hehir said.

Apple has refused to allow third-party access to decrypted data without permission from a UK court.

Mr Hehir said: “We’re only asking for our data, that these companies are protecting for us. Morgan owns the computer, Morgan owns the data, but Apple owns the access. It’s so frustrating.”

He added: “It essentially means if you store everything on your computer, you lose your history and memories.”“