David Vance SubstackRead More
If you live in the UK and use any Apple device such as an iPhone or MacBook, the UK Government will now be able to access a lot of your stored information. Here’s what has just happened;
Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data.
Advanced Data Protection, external (ADP) means only account holders can view items such as photos or documents they have stored online through a process known as end-to-end encryption. But earlier this month the UK government asked for the right to see the data, which currently not even Apple can access. Apple did not comment at the time but has consistently opposed creating a “backdoor” in its encryption service, arguing that if it did so, it would only be a matter of time before bad actors also found a way in. Now the tech giant has decided it will no longer be possible to activate ADP in the UK. It means eventually not all UK customer data stored on iCloud – Apple’s cloud storage service – will be fully encrypted, external.
And the punchline?
Data with standard encryption is accessible by Apple and shareable with law enforcement, if they have a warrant.
These are the areas that Starmer can now potentially access for whatever reason.
This removal of full encryption is only in the United Kingdom, no other country is affected. We are the Petri dish for digital tyranny.
The UK has an estimated 35 million iPhone users alone. These people will now be wide open to both Government and hackers as we lose the higher encryption level.
Apple has caved to Starmer’s authoritarianism. In a way, I am not too stressed as I have nothing of my iCloud that is other than harmless and family orientated. What bothers me is that the State can now access these areas and potentially leave things there to incriminate.
Some people will say that this is no big deal and that in REALITY your phone is always spying on you. That may be true but I think that fails to flag up this open and egregious intrusion into our freedom. Others will argue this is entirely necessary to ensure that those using this platform to hide child abuse images cannot get away with it. We would all agree with that but then we ALL lose our privacy to police a tiny minority that could be hunted down in other ways.
JD Vance recently questioned freedom in the UK. He was right. It is dying.
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