London UK Apple Data Demand has reignited a privacy debate after the British government reportedly ordered Apple to provide access to customer data stored in its cloud services. This is the second order of its kind this year and comes after a previous attempt that included US users was withdrawn under pressure from Washington.
According to the Financial Times the Home Office issued a technical capability notice in early September asking Apple to create a backdoor for UK users’ encrypted data. The earlier demand faced strong opposition from the US government with US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard stressing that Americans’ privacy and civil liberties must be protected.
Civil liberties groups in Britain have condemned the latest UK Apple Data Demand warning it could set a precedent for similar actions against other tech companies. Privacy International said the move risks everyone’s security while claiming to protect people.
Apple has strongly opposed such measures reiterating that it has “never built a backdoor or master key” to its products or services. The company had earlier appealed against the first order at the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal. However it was forced to withdraw its Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users earlier this year meaning full end-to-end encryption remains unavailable in Britain.
Apple said it remains committed to offering the highest security to users and hopes to reintroduce Advanced Data Protection in the UK in the future. The UK Apple Data Demand comes amid growing public concern over government surveillance and parallel plans to issue digital identity cards. Critics say these moves threaten privacy and civil liberties in the country.
