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UK drops demand for backdoor into Apple encryption
- orangejuice45 1y agoanother reason to award the Nobel Prize to DJT if it was ever necessary
- Retr0id 1y agoIt's great that they're dropping it, but concerning that it was only because of pushback from US politicians. Also important to note: > With the order now reportedly removed, it’s unclear if Apple will restore access to its ADP service in the UK.
- ExoticPearTree 1y agoFor sure they didn't drop it out of the goodness of their heart.
- Retr0id 1y agoThere was once an idea that elected politicians should champion the interests of their constituents.
- 201984 1y agoSomehow I don't think this was in the constituents' interests in the first place.
- ExoticPearTree 1y ago> There was once an idea that elected politicians should champion the interests of their constituents. I think that idea died a very long time ago.
- johnnyanmac 1y agoYup, and constituent apathy killed it. if people can't hold their reps accountable over even the most obvious BS, and re-elect them anyway, why would reps bother trying to hide it?
- hardlianotion 1y agoJust rejoice that in this one case, the spinelessness of our elected representatives has some, perhaps temporary, upside.
- terminalshort 1y agoHow is this an example of spinelessness?
- logicchains 1y agoMaybe they mean the spinelessness of UK representatives?
- abullinan 1y agoSome people always assume everything is about their country.
- hardlianotion 1y agoYep
- stephen_g 1y agoThe other concerning thing is that it took the otherwise awful Trump administration to push back, while the Biden administration was reportedly going to look the other way (and have been accused of knowing about it but hiding it from Congress) [1]. 1. https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/02/26/wapo-biden-justice-department-backdoor https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/02/26/wapo-biden-just...
- BowBun 1y agoSee this is the kind of lying I expect from politicians - misleading people about their policy decisions. Not the constant challenging of recorded fact.
- johnnyanmac 1y agoWell, Google and Co. are trying to push it worldwide anyway under the ruse of UK law, regardless of administration. I don't see them countering all this AI ID stuff. I feel this is more of an "Earth isn't yours to conquer" move rather than one really aimed at protecting US Citizen's data. Governments is simply fighting over who can control how we navigate our tech.
- varispeed 1y agoThe backdoors might still go ahead. What if backing down is just for show? In the end they don't have to let public know, but this information serves a purpose - potential suspects might now think it is okay to use now and fall right into the trap.
- stronglikedan 1y ago> only because of pushback from US politicians Like it or hate it, that's still the way of the world.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Canada 1y agoThey will try again
- oscord 1y agoWhich means they got it.
- rusk 1y agoOr the MOD told them they’ve had it all this time and don’t draw any more attention to it
- globalnode 1y agobut what about the children! /s
- a5c11 1y agoDon't worry, politicians will take care of them.
- neom 1y agoDon't many governments themselves use Apple, especially the Americans? I always found this a weird demand if they do.
- KerrAvon 1y agoGovernments generally use special procedures for securing secret information, which makes this a non-issue for government use, assuming government employees follow the procedures, which apparently the Trump administration doesn’t.
- thewebguyd 1y agoEven if they did, it'd be like the proposed chat control, where there are carve outs for politicians. Rules for thee, not for me.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- grahar64 1y agoOr did they get what they want?
- rdm_blackhole 1y agoSmall reprieve. Let's hope that Apple pushes back on Chat Control as well.
- flumpcakes 1y agoGood news for UK people. I am all for laws designed to protect children, and stop terrorism. But these 'back door' laws are nearly always very poorly thought out and offers new avenues for 'normal' people to come to harm.
- chaostheory 1y agoBack doors just make the device or platform less secure.
- amelius 1y agoMeanwhile, who believes that the US has no backdoors in these devices?
- johnisgood 1y agoHopefully no one, in services available globally (i.e. not US-specific), just to be sure.
- sedivy94 1y agoWhy litigate it when you can buy it from the NSO / IDF?
- philistine 1y agoCold logic dictates otherwise. The UK is part of Five Eyes: total data sharing between intelligence agencies. If that were the case, why would the UK need a law to get data it already has?
- hermannj314 1y agoAs a believer in equal protection under the law, it is never a win when a powerful company or government lobbies for a specific carve out for only it's customers or its country. Human rights like privacy don't belong to those who bought the right phone or were born on the right piece of soil. This isn't a win, this is solidifying and reinforcing the idea that different laws should exist for different classes of people - those who can afford to make the government look the other way and those that can't. Congratulations to Apple on lobbying for its own money. Very noble.
- eviks 1y agoThis is an obvious win when fewer people are under the boot even if some people remain they're. It's not a universal win, for sure, but let not perfect be the cause to ignore the good.
- chrismustcode 1y agoI agree it should be across the spectrum where people have the same rights to privacy. > those who can afford to make the government look the other way and those that can't. > Congratulations to Apple on lobbying for its own money. Very noble. But what’s your implication here, that Apple shouldn’t have fought it?
- consp 1y agoProbably that it should be a generalization and apple should have fought for that and not apply just to one particular operator.
- hermannj314 1y agoAs far as I know, the blue/green mentality is a cultural issue for Apple. They would be fine if Android users had their data read by the government, because that injustice is a market differentiator for them they can then sell. I'm not saying they shouldn't lobby for what they believe in, but Apple always stops short of making the world a better place and seems to care only if their walled garden is secure.
- crinkly 1y agoSo when can I have ADP back? Bet that's not happening...
- HeckFeck 1y agoWe'll get ADB back before we get ADP back.
- tehwebguy 1y agoTitle should say "reportedly drops" or "according to US official." No proof is offered other than a tweet from Tulsi Gabbard.
- lotsofpulp 1y agoI wouldn’t have even bothered to click on the comments if that was in the title. Thanks for illuminating the lack of credible source.
- strangescript 1y agomore important things to yell about now like global id and age verification and doing everything in their power to hamstring AI development
- Astro-Domine 1y agoQuis custodiet ipsos custodes?
- Slava_Propanei 1y ago[dead]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- indymike 1y agoFirst rule of backdoors: the intended user may not be the only user.
- pacifika 1y ago> Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users. Still there.
- Melatonic 1y agoYeah if this is true - bit sketchy
- oliwarner 1y ago... says the most "truthy" US government since records began. I don't want to be overly cynical but I'm resigned to never truly know details of national security. I have opinions but nobody is listening to them.
- alfiedotwtf 1y agoSee you all around in a few months when they try the exact same thing :head slap:
- rtkwe 1y agoFor now... they've tried and dropped this a half dozen times over the years.
- BCM43 1y ago“As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties.” Back doors to end-to-end encryption are considered bad now? Someone should tell the FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-investigate/lawful-access/lawful-access https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-investigate/lawful-access/lawful-...
- rickdarlino 1y ago[flagged]
- Ms-J 1y agoThe reason the UK dropped the demand is because they already have backdoor access to personal data using multiple methods, and to make the topic disappear for the time being. Never use a mobile for anything that requires privacy or security. It's the intelligence agencies favourite tool.
- gausswho 1y agoSmoke and mirrors. The UK government got what they want with Apple disabling ADP. Until that's turned on, all iCloud backups are available to them. That Apple can even claim it encrypts your data is such a bald-faced lie when Advanced Data Protection defaults to off.