With a democratically elected UK government ordering access into the private encrypted cloud storage data of Apple customers anywhere in the world, it has boldly taken a step toward becoming a totalitarian regime.
The government has long argued that it’s “difficult to gather digital evidence for criminal prosecutions and collect intelligence for national security,” but that does not warrant extreme surveillance. The Starmer Labour government won’t do the minimum to protect its national security by securing its borders, but it expects its population to believe that its violation into the privacy of citizens is valid.
According to the Washington Post, Apple will likely stop offering its “iCloud encryption feature to users in the United Kingdom in response to the secret order, rather than break the encryption of users globally.”
Yet “Apple touts privacy as one of its “core values” and describes it as a “fundamental human right.” So, its willingness to potentially allow that violation to its British customers on the order of a dangerous government is disappointing and disturbing. Apple should refuse outright.
The UK government’s move shows that globalist, leftist regimes are closer than ever to destroying Western free societies, yet citizens are mysteriously continuing to vote them in. The UK will likely not be the only Western government to abuse the rights and threaten the core liberties of its country’s citizens.
Take for instance this tweet by Senator John Kennedy:
Under the Biden admin, the government allegedly flagged purchases of firearms, Bibles, and anything associated with “MAGA” or “Trump” as extremism.
This effectively forced bankers to spy on conservatives and destroy bank accounts the Biden regime didn’t like.
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) February 10, 2025
“UK demands ability to access Apple users’ encrypted data,” by Dan Milmo, Guardian, February 2, 2025:
The UK government has demanded that Apple creates a backdoor in its encrypted cloud service, in a confrontation that challenges the US tech firm’s avowed stance on protecting user privacy.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Home Office had issued a “technical capability notice” under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which requires companies to assist law enforcement in providing evidence.
The demand, issued last month, relates to Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service, which heavily encrypts personal data uploaded and stored remotely in Apple’s cloud servers, according to the Post, which said this was a “blanket” request that applied to any Apple user worldwide. The ADP service uses end-to-end encryption, a form of security that means only the account holder can decrypt the files and no one else can – including Apple.
Apple declined to comment. However, in a submission to parliament last year it flagged its concerns about the IPA, saying it provided the government with “authority to issue secret orders requiring providers to break encryption by inserting backdoors into their software products”.
Apple touts privacy as one of its “core values” and describes it as a “fundamental human right”….
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I recall in 2015, when the FBI wanted Apple to help them crack the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, Apple plainly told them “no”, standing up for the right to privacy. We can test their commitment to this by seeing whether they say no to the Labour government in the UK
If I were a computer designer & manufacturer, I’d make it a point to not have any backdoors. You buy a computer, it is yours – data & all!
somehistory says
I feel the same….once we pay for something, we should decide how, when and where to use it. Our phones shouldn’t be spying on us. Our computers shouldn’t be spying on us.
And yet, they are, along with new cars and appliances.
The police aren’t supposed to just come breaking down our doors without “just cause” and a warrant; but they demand access to our very words and thoughts
abu taleb says
I believe Apple must have been stealing its customer data just like Google and other online companies. So it is a BS that Apple says about privacy etc.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I’m no fan of Apple, but what do you base that on?
Apple’s business model is very different from Google’s. They make big margins on their hardware – be it Macs, iPhones, iPads, et al, and they use those margins to support their services, such as their Apple Stores worldwide. Just compare a Mac w/ a given configuration w/ an equivalently configured Windows PC (granted, it’s a tad more difficult now since Apple moved out of Intel to their own ARM-based M-series), and you’ll notice the Apple one costing considerably more. Since they make the money they need to run from their toys, which they’ve managed to inflate the branding, making it like a Prada or Gucci, they don’t need to sell our data the way Google does. (Incidentally, Microsoft used to make its money selling either Windows or Windows software, but now, they too have adapted the Google model of selling our data)
The other thing about Apple is that in addition to the above, they are now a media company, and make a bundle from Apple TV. We think of Netflix when we think of entertainment, but I’ve found that a lot of my favorite shows from the 90s, if I wanna go retro and watch them, are not on Netflix, Amazon Prime nor Disney, but rather on Apple TV. So Apple does have some valuable assets in that space, which will do a lot in helping maintain that company as a trillion dollar company
Problem is that all tech companies are woke. I’ve been watching Brian Lunduke, a tech commentator who also notices the political aspects of tech, and he’s been pointing this out. Unfortunately, there are no non-woke platforms, so that’s a market asking to be created
gravenimage says
+1
Michael V. Wilson says
President Trump should tell the UK that ordering an American company to do something they don’t want to do is a violation of the 13th Amendment prohibiting slavery, and any attempt to enforce the order would be seen as an Act of War.
gravenimage says
UK Labour government demands ability to access Apple users’ encrypted data to spy on users
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Disgusting–but this does not surprise. Apple should tell them to go pound sand.