Apple is removing cutting edge end-to-end security encryption capabilities for UK cloud data, in an unprecedented move after reports on Friday that the government requested a way to access user data He said there was.
Advanced Data Protection is an optional feature that extends end-to-end encryption to a wide range of user data, and is no longer available for new users in the UK, and current UK users will ultimately need to disable this security feature. There is.
The government and the tech giants have long been trapped in the fight over encryption, but such demands from the UK will be especially cleaned up. Security authorities argue that while encryption hampers criminal investigations, tech companies defend it as essential to user privacy.
The loss of end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups allows Apple to read user data, such as iMessage, which is sometimes protected, and pass it on to authorities if legally enforced. In contrast, if a user has end-to-end encryption, Apple cannot read the data under any circumstances.
Data that was encrypted before Apple provided protective services in December 2022, including health data, passwords, Imessage and FaceTime messaging services, remains encrypted, Apple said.
Law enforcement frequently targets these services through iCloud backups that were end-to-end unencrypted before Apple provided advanced data protection. These backups, including photos and other sensitive information, are widely used — cannot provide end-to-end encryption for UK users, Apple said.
Apple does not own encryption keys for existing users of UK data protection services, so Apple said it cannot turn off those users' functionality. Apple said it would provide those users with the opportunity to turn themselves off.
A spokesman for the UK's Department of Interior declined to comment on whether such an order was issued. “We have not commented on operational issues, such as confirming or denying the existence of such notices,” the spokesman said.
“Given the continued rise in data breach and other threats to customer privacy, we have been seriously disappointed that the protections offered by ADP are not available to UK customers,” Apple said.
Apple's shares remained largely unchanged on Friday.
Apple has long resisted government efforts to weaken encryption, including in 2016 when US officials tried to force San Bernardino shooter to unlock iPhones.
The company reiterated on Friday that it would not “build a backdoor on that technology.”
Other high-tech companies are working on global encryption laws. Messaging Platform Signals previously threatened to bring the UK into similar concerns, but the meta platform is facing a pushback to plans to expand WhatsApp's encryption.
