Apple would pull iMessage and FaceTime from UK if new privacy law gets passed

The United Kingdom has been planning to replace its Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016, which would require messaging providers to disable their security measures upon request by the authorities in an try and “protect the public from criminals, child sex abusers and terrorists”.

Apple voiced issues that the new adjustments may compromise knowledge safety and info privacy and threatened to pull iMessage and FaceTime from the UK if the revised act goes by.

WhatsApp and Signal additionally strongly opposed a clause within the Online Safety Bill, which primarily desires providers to put in a backdoor to end-to-end encryption. Introducing a workaround for encrypted messages means they’re now not encrypted, and Signal additionally threatened to “walk” from the United Kingdom.

If the Act goes by, messaging platforms would want to inform the Home Office of any adjustments to product security measures earlier than they’re launched; Non-UK corporations should apply the change to their product globally and need to take motion instantly, as an alternative of getting to undergo bureaucratic hurdles. Apple said these proposals “constitute a serious and direct threat” to individuals outdoors the UK.

The Investigatory Powers Act is below an eight-week session course of on the proposed amendments, and analysts predict tech corporations are unlikely to simply accept the adjustments.

Via