BBC News - Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row
- “In a statement Apple said it was “gravely disappointed” that the security feature would no longer be available to British customers.”
Washington post - Apple yanks encrypted storage in U.K. instead of allowing backdoor access
I guess removing access for the uk is better than backdooring it in silence. But still, not great.
Also, it is interesting comparing compliance on this with complying with the EU on sideloading apps.
Original title: ‘Apple caved and pulled end-to-end encrypted backups in the uk’ - record of bad take title
Copy of my comment in c/apple:
Honestly I think this is the right move.
Pull the feature and tell the public that the government won’t permit the public to secure their own data.
“I have security and privacy features for you, but your government won’t let you use them”
Set the public against this overreach.
I think it’s the right move by Apple.
I don’t think it’s the right move by my Government to be ordering this.
Like most governments, the UK’s has a poor record on understanding technical standards (They’re still trying to implement age-restriction on porn sites, something that’s been ongoing for a decade) Backdoor or lack of encryption - both make data security impossible and make the lives of criminals a whole lot easier. We simply cannot have safe data this way.
If your government wants to look, we want to look as well
Apple does not allow other competing security and privacy features. If apple was opening up, the gov couldn’t do anything in the first place