UK Home Office’s Demand for Keys to Global, Encrypted Communications Boomerangs When Apple Cancels Service in UK

British Consumers Should Protest “Disrespectful Government”

Apple just killed its encrypted services enabled by its Advanced Data Protection tool in the United Kingdom rather than allow the British government to use it as a warrantless spy device on customers worldwide.
 
Forced into this action by a draconian government order, Apple’s action will remove a widely used service from the hands of millions of British customers. Encryption allows users to maintain the same level of privacy they would expect in a private conversation. This privacy allows victims to hide from stalkers, women and children to report abuse, dissidents to communicate around tyrants, and people to keep snoopy government out of their lives.
 
The Backstory
Apple designed its Advanced Data Protection with end-to-end encryption so well that the company itself doesn’t have the ability to review a customer’s items stored on iCloud such as their notes, images, text message backups, and web bookmarks. Only customers can decrypt their own data.
 
Two weeks ago, the UK Home Office ordered Apple to build a backdoor to grant the British government access to users’ data under the UK Investigatory Powers Act. Worse, the order demanded that Apple provide a backdoor to global communications, giving British investigators access to the private data of Americans and everyone else. Apple’s action appears to prevent that expansion to global surveillance.
 
PPSA’s Statement
Bob Goodlatte, PPSA Senior Policy Advisor and former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, issued this statement:
 
“It is a shame that the law-abiding citizens of the United Kingdom will lose access to a well-regarded encryption system because the British government does not respect their right to privacy. People who are able to keep their personal and business records and financial transactions protected by using encryption are far safer and prevent far more crime than if anyone, including well-meaning but inevitably careless governments, have so-called back-door keys that eventually always fall into the wrong hands. Thank goodness Americans have a Bill of Rights to protect their freedom. We must never take it for granted.  
 
“The British people should demand nothing less from a disrespectful government.”
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