We told you a few months ago that Apple was “threatening” to remove iMessage and FaceTime from the UK if Online Security Bill. Now, we already know the problems that exist in Investigative Powers Act 2016 (IPA) it goes far beyond enterprise messaging and communication apps.
This proposed text seeks to add the additional obligation for manufacturers to notify the government, in advance, of any “technical changes” to their systems and the government may prohibit their implementation. The text is terrible from a privacy and security standpoint for a very easy to understand example: Apple constantly releases security updates for its systems. Updates that arrive wirelessly and are automatically applied to users’ iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This provision does not allow the company to continue this practice.
And it’s not just Apple. This applies to Google (Android), Samsung and all device manufacturers whose customers are located in the UK.
The importance of the issue of National Security is obvious, but the reality is that I think the lights are starting to go out for the UK (as they did for Brexit).
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