UK demands Apple lets it see users’ encrypted data
UK demands Apple lets it see users’ encrypted data
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Labour ministers have been accused of eroding fundamental rights and civil liberties amid warnings other tech giants will also be targeted. The government has ordered Apple to allow it access to users’ encrypted files, prompting allegations of an “unprecedented attack” on privacy rights. The order asked for a blanket ability to view encrypted material, not just help accessing a specific account.
The Home Office said it would not confirm or deny the existence of such an order. Apple has said it regards privacy as a "fundamental human right" and said its current set up means no one else can access a user's data, not even Apple itself. In recent years, police and security services around the globe world have pushed for more access to encrypted communications, warning that it is used by the likes of terrorists and child abusers to evade justice.
But tech firms defended users’ right to privacy and warned that any “backdoor” into systems could also be exploited by criminals or authoritarian regimes. Rebecca Vincent, from civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: "We are extremely troubled by reports that the UK Government has ordered Apple to create a backdoor that would effectively break encryption for millions of users - an unprecedented attack on privacy rights that has no place in any democracy.
"Big Brother Watch has been ringing alarm bells about the possibility of precisely this scenario since the adoption of the Investigatory Powers Bill in 2016. "We all want the government to be able to effectively tackle crime and terrorism, but breaking encryption will not make us safer. "Instead it will erode the fundamental rights and civil liberties of the entire population - and it will not stop with Apple.
