It is reported that the Home Office has ordered Apple to build a backdoor into its encrypted services so that they can get hold of content that any Apple user has upload to the cloud.
Encryption keeps our private information safe and secure. It’s essential for being safe online when sending messages, shopping, doing online banking – and for storing things safely in the cloud. With the Cabinet Office estimating the cost of Cyber Crime at £21BN a year to our economy, we can’t afford to make our data less secure with a backdoor.
But the UK government thinks it should be access anything and everything, anywhere and anytime – and it’s prepared to put all of our security at risk in order to do so.
According to the Washington Post, Apple are likely to say no to this demand and stop providing encrypted services to people in the UK. This would mean that Apple users in the UK no longer have the secure products that people in other countries have.
But this is not just about Apple. The UK government has been putting pressure on Meta to stop rolling out encryption in its services. Android users could be next.
The UK Government can do this because last year, they added new powers to the Investigatory Powers Act, known as the snooper’s charter. These powers mean the Home Office can force tech companies to notify them when they want to make their products more secure; in other words so the Home Office can stop security measures from ever being added.
The Home Office don’t have to get a judge to approve these orders. We as citizens can’t even find out if such an order has been issued due to their secretive nature.
This is the wrong way round. The UK Government should encourage tech companies to use encryption and keep us all safe online – not put our privacy and security at risk. We need to act now before we lose Apple encrypted services.
Add your name to demand that the Home Office protects your privacy now.
