The UK government recently issued a secret order that Apple install a “backdoor” – a decryption tool – to give it access to private data on iCloud.
That’s potentially your data. And mine. And everyone else’s in Britain. And the world.
Yes, the British government is leading the world on overreach!
The government’s demand effectively meant that Apple would have had to break its encryption tool called Advanced Data Protection (ADP) – a feature which means that even Apple cannot access iCloud data. That’s the ultimate guarantee that personal data remains in the hands of the individual.
Apple’s initial response was to publicly re-affirm its commitment to privacy, saying it had “never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and never will”.
Apple has withdrawn ADP in the UK, meaning that new users can no longer access the tool and current users will lose access at a later stage. Without ADP, most iCloud data reverts to standard encryption, allowing Apple to decrypt and provide access if compelled by a legal order. The change also makes data more vulnerable to hackers.
(For Android users, this change does not apply, as Google’s cloud backup services historically did not offer the same level of end-to-end encryption as Apple’s ADP.)
This, according to privacy campaigner Naomi Brockwell, is better than if Apple had simply agreed to the government’s demands: “still terrible for privacy but less harmful, because at least now users are informed and can make safer choices.
“If Apple had secretly complied, billions of users would have been dangerously vulnerable – unknowingly relying on security that wasn’t actually secure. Worse, Apple would have been legally barred from telling users that their encryption had been compromised.”
Now Apple has lodged an appeal to overturn the government order with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the court that oversees Britain’s surveillance laws.
This is the first known case of a government of a major democracy instructing a tech giant to break encryption.
The order – known as a technical capability notice and made in secret for legal reasons – became possible after 2023 amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act allowed the government to issue preemptive decryption demands to tech firms.
That could set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other governments to demand similar backdoors, weakening digital privacy worldwide.
And the UK government could make similar demands to other providers of encrypted services such as WhatsApp, Signal, or ProtonMail.
In other words, the attempted data raid on Apple is a fundamental threat to our privacy.
Naturally, the government claims the move is necessary for “security” and the British authorities would only access data in pursuit of criminals such as terrorists and child abusers.
But tyranny always comes cloaked in virtue. The experiences of recent years have taught us far too much to take such statements at face value.
We now know that taxpayers’ money was used to fund a covert surveillance operation in which the British army spied on journalists and others critical of Covid restrictions.
And barely a week goes by under the current government when we don’t hear of some new instance of the authorities harassing citizens for speaking their minds, whether it’s a journalist arrested for “terrorism” or children as young as nine investigated for “hate crime”.
As Together keeps highlighting, there are ongoing attempts to suppress dissent on all sorts of issues that depart from the approved narrative.
If the British government, possibly followed by others, succeeds in getting broad access to all our photos, contacts and messages, it seems inevitable that access will be misused.
That’s another step towards the digital authoritarianism we all fear, which underlines the importance of ongoing pushback.
At the same time, there are things we can and should all do to protect our own privacy.
Six Ways For UK Apple Users To Reclaim Privacy Right Now
In this video, Naomi Brockwell makes it really clear what to do to protect your privacy; you can also read her article including six ways for UK Apple users to reclaim privacy immediately, here.
And you can find some guidance on how to find encrypted cloud storage here.
➡ We’ve managed to have an impact since Together were initially formed in opposition to digital medical certification in the UK (vaccine passports) – effectively scrapped soon after we presented the original 200,000 Together Declaration signatures to 10 Downing Street in January 2022.
➡ By mobilising supporters, we were then a big part of the huge 66,000 responses to Government on Digital ID consultation – and central to the “huge public backlash” to Central Bank Digital Currencies with over 50,000 official consultation responses.
➡ We campaigned to MPs and the Financial Conduct Authority to prevent “debanking” for political reasons, alongside campaign groups UsForThem and Free Speech Union. This was won collectively, although the snap election in 2024 meant it was not put into legislation.
But as the alarming Apple story shows all too clearly, state overreach isn’t going away, with new encroachments on us all the time.
We can only keep raising awareness, campaigning and mobilizing on issues like these thanks to the support of members, so:
