Apple removes Advanced Data Protection for iCloud in the UK after the government ordered it to build a backdoor, something the company says it will never do
Better no security than a false sense of one. Ari Cohn / @aricohn.com : Apple's UK user data is now more vulnerable. It's not Apple's fault; they're PROTECTING users by not giving a false sense of security while being forced to have a backdoor. — Encryption is critical to our data-centric world & free speech. Gov't MUST stop attacking it. — archive.is/Cj1pu#select... … James Tarry / @northamptonian : This is grim. Personally, there's nothing on the cloud that's particularly private, but if I was using it for business it'd be somewhat different. [embedded post] Mark O'Neill / @radiobeartime.com : So the current shambles that is UK tech policy is making end users less safe, effectively makes running any kind of online forum too risky, and proposes to make the UK's creative industries worthless because the Wallet Inspectors say it's necessary to power the magical AI mills. [embedded post] Chance Miller / @chancemiller.me : Apple is pulling its Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK: — Starting today, the feature is unavailable to new users in the UK. — Timetable unclear, but UK users who have already enabled the feature will eventually have to DISABLE IT to continue using their iCloud account. … @martinsfp : Thanks to the UK government for leading us to a point where iCloud is less secure for your citizens. Madness. — No backdoors! Encryption for all! Let the intelligence community do some work to get the specific data they need! Mastodon: Matt Birchler / @matt@isfeeling.social : It is crazy that Apple would seemingly rather close down the company than let people install apps from outside the App Store, even running an extended PR campaign against it, but they roll over immediately for this. https://mastodon.social/... Martin / @mshelton@mastodon.social : When governments compel organizations to weaken security, no one wins. This compromise for Apple makes users in the U.K. less safe, and signals to other regions how to also embarrass themselves by doing the same. https://techcrunch.com/... Erik Jonker / @ErikJonker@mastodon.social : So Apple caved and is lowering the protection of it's UK users and maybe more , who knows. So please let's forget about all the myths that Apple is so secure, thinks privacy is important and other blablabla. — https://techcrunch.com/... #apple #security #backdoor #e2e #encryption Zack Whittaker / @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social : Signal has long said it'd “rather shut down or leave a market” than add a backdoor or weaken its encryption. — Apple also had this option when it was ordered by the UK government to build an iCloud backdoor. Apple could have said - without violating secrecy laws — why it was leaving the UK, rather than weaken the encryption of all of its UK customers. … @RabBrucesSpider1@mastodon.scot : Good news for iPhone users. Thanks to the UK Government's insistence on Apple giving them a back door into their systems, Apple are removing encryption protection from iCloud. The Government will be able to snoop on your pictures and notes stored in iCloud. … @FirewallDragons@mastodon.social : This is a travesty, though it was the best option Apple had in this case (better than complying). I hope the reaction to this by folks in the UK is swift and loud. — https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Threads: Benedict Evans / @benedictevans : I can understand the UK government regulating encryption in the UK. I think it's making the wrong choice but that, is its prerogative. I don't understand why thinks it should be able to regulate the product that an American company sells in Japan Timothy Buck / @timothybucksf : Really pleased to see Apple do the right thing in the face of government overreach. Parker Thompson / @parkert : Apple is a real mixed bag, but credit where credit is due on this one. — RE: https://www.threads.net/... X: Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : Crazy Apple PR spin being parroted here through different partisan channels. Apple just compromised all UK users by removing iCloud encryption and are having reporters say it was a brave act of rebellion. They think we're all idiots, Apple customers and Apple employees alike! Will Cathcart / @wcathcart : Encryption is absolutely critical for keeping people safe, and governments should encourage it. Banning encryption is a dangerous gift to hackers and hostile foreign governments. Aditi Agrawal / @aditi_muses : Bad, bad precedent through and through. Can't believe that when push came to shove, a Meta platform (WhatsApp) showed more spine on E2EE (in India) than we-care-for-your-privacy-Apple (in UK). https://www.bloomberg.com/... Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald : After the Snowden reporting revealed widespread cooperation by Big Tech to turn over user data to NSA with no warrants, they made end-to-end encryption widely available to reassure users' privacy. The UK just forced Apple to disable its highest level, giving UK backdoor access. Phil Rodgers / @philrodgers : Given this news, it seems entirely possible that WhatsApp may soon also become unavailable in the UK https://www.bbc.com/... @zooko : Has Whatsapp/Facebook/Meta/Zuck made a statement about whether or not they are currently complying with the UK government's requirement that all companies insert backdoors into their user's encryption? @matthew_d_green : One thing I'm seeing re: today's Apple news is a lot of people blaming Apple. Saying that Apple is selling people out by withdrawing encryption features from the U.K. market. For example, here's Tim Sweeney. I want to give a different take. Tom Harwood / @tomhfh : BREAK: Absolutely horrific news for iPhone users in the UK. Apple is removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data. This is a move that Apple has never made before in any market. Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : The Apple PR propaganda on this one is strong. Typically respectable reporters are touting Apple compromising encryption in the UK as somehow rebelling and refusing to build a “back door”. Folks, Apple just opened the FRONT DOOR. Scott Helme / @scott_helme : This is a concerning day. Whilst I had Advanced Data Protection enabled, Apple said I “will eventually need to disable this security feature”... The UK Government are compelling Apple, and myself, to disable a security feature that protects my data in the cloud! [image] @matthew_d_green : If you're Apple in this situation — keeping in mind that you're dealing with laws that mandate total secrecy, and a government that mixes national security and criminal law — what's your first move? My guess is that your best strategy is to flip the table. @matthew_d_green : After all, if you disable the encryption feature at issue from all U.K. customers, to some extent the issue appears moot. (It's not moot, of course. The U.K. would still be asking for access to non-U.K. users.) But it gives you a place you can work from. Mark Gurman / @markgurman : How End-to-End Encryption Will and Won't Change for Apple Users in the UK https://www.bloomberg.com/... Bryan Glick / @bryanglick : Apple 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 @vxunderground : Congratulations to our cybersecurity colleagues in the United Kingdom. They're probably very happy about this. (this is sarcasm, don't go schizo in the comments) James Ball / @jamesrbuk : The government left Apple facing liability for undermining security globally by complying with the order, or else just leaving UK users more vulnerable to criminal hackers and others. It chose the latter. A stupid and unnecessary self-own, which will likely be left unfixed. David Pegg / @davidtpegg : How do you even fix this mess now? Government would need to: - rescind the order against Apple - publicly admit to, and apologise for, the order - commit to reforming the law so this can't reoccur - ask Apple, very nicely, to restore proper encryption to its UK customers... Will Guyatt / @willguyatt : There's an awful lot of nuance lost in this Apple story - the government still needs a court order to get data from Apple. The lack of government communication on this will lead to spiralling conspiracy theories not seen since 5G and covid https://news.sky.com/... Alan Woodward / @profwoodward : When will the lesson be learned, no matter how much you dislike the fact, you cannot tell a US tech company what to do globally - all you succeed in doing is disadvantaging your own people https://www.bbc.com/... Michael Shellenberger / @shellenberger : The UK seems like a free nation. It's not. It is run by a tyrant, Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer . Shame on him for his totalitarian demand. And bravo to Apple CEO @tim_cook for defying the government. Please share this to warn the world that UK is no longer safe for free people! [image] @uk_daniel_card : I'll be moving myself somewhere else then! @martynday : Apple withdraws cloud encryption service from UK - New users can no longer sign up to iCloud ADP as of Friday. Customers in the UK who had already turned the setting on will be required to disable the feature in order to keep using their iCloud account https://www.ft.com/... Miguel de Icaza / @migueldeicaza : Murdoch's newspapers are going to have very juicy content for decades. @mysk_co : Will users visiting the UK be forced to disable iCloud Advanced Data Protection before entering the country? James Titcomb / @jamestitcomb : Countries where government security orders mean Apple doesn't offer the same encryption available to the rest of the world: Britain China Kim Zetter / @kimzetter : Apple has canceled encrypted iCloud storage for UK users rather than create backdoor UK gov wants to access data. UK customers who currently have Advanced Data Protection will be warned to disable it or lose access to iCloud. By @joemenn.bsky.social https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo : I'm moving to china where my icloud data is more secure Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : I was mistaken. Apple is indeed willing to sell out the security and privacy of users anywhere in the world at the request of their government. Perhaps by compromising user rights, they hope develop a “special relationship” that gives them a free pass on antitrust law. @matthew_d_green : Apple will withdraw the ability for U.K. users to sign up for ADP. Since they can't turn off ADP for existing users, those users will still have it. But eventually they intend to “provide guidance” to those users, which I imagine means a choice of turning it off manually or Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo : Pretty sad day when the United Kingdom is the first region to block Apple from offering Advanced Data Protection https://9to5mac.com/... @matthew_d_green : This will not affect: iMessage encryption iCloud Keychain FaceTime Health data These will remain end-to-end encrypted. Other services like iCloud Backup and Photos will not be end-to-end encrypted. @matthew_d_green : New public statement from Apple (sent to me privately): “As of Friday, February 21, Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection as a feature to new users in the UK.” @matthew_d_green : Additionally: “Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature. ADP protects iCloud data with end-to-end encryption, which means the data can only be decrypted Dustin Curtis / @dcurtis : Apple should not have acquiesced—especially for an advanced western democracy like the UK. Weakening encryption is bad for humanity and something worth fighting to the bitter end. Mark Gurman / @markgurman : BREAKING: Apple is pulling its end-to-end encryption feature — Advanced Data Protection — in the UK, in a stunning development after the government ordered the company to build a backdoor to user data. Apple is not complying. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Leo Kelion / @leokelion : Well that explains why I was getting alerts that Advanced Data Protection wasn't working this morning... this looks like a big concession from Apple HT @zsk [image] Mark Gurman / @markgurman : BREAKING: Apple is pulling its end-to-end encryption feature — Advanced Data Protection — in the UK, in a stunning development after the government ordered the company to build a backdoor to user data. Apple is not complying. LinkedIn: Samantha Simms : A HUGE BLOW!!! — Apple's decision to pull ADP is a massive disappointment for UK consumers like myself. … Jessica Shurson : The review period for a technical capability notice (which I assume Apple has requested) can take up to 180 days. So this is Apple fighting back publicly. … Peter Slack : Today marks a very sad day in UK history where the government are now spying on all UK citizens, our businesses and your clients if you use an Apple device for work. … Matt Abrams : “Apple disabled its most secure data storage offering for new customers in the United Kingdom on Friday rather than comply with a secret government order … Abid Patel : This is an extremely disappointing move by Apple and I'm shocked that they caved in so easily to pressure from the UK government. … Joe Jones : Government access to data has long been a fault line at which there has been seismic activity impacting privacy, public safety, and cyber security equities. … Brian Honan : This a welcome and not unexpected move from Apple. Weakening encryption for one government ultimately weakens it for everyone … Marc Lawn : One of the biggest acts of data security self harm ever? — Apple has effectively reduced the protection given to UK consumers data, by pulling its data protection tools. … Nigel Smart : Appalling that Apple were forced to reduce the security of all people in the UK by the UK government. … Forums: Hacker News : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/privacy : Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From UK After Backdoor Order r/iphone : This type of control by the UK Government makes me sick. r/europe : Apple pulls iCloud end-to-end encryption feature for UK users after government demanded backdoor r/technology : Apple pulls encryption feature from UK over government spying demands r/hardware : Apple Pulls Encrypted iCloud Security Feature in UK Amid Government Backdoor Demands r/technology : Apple is removing iCloud end-to-encryption features from the UK after government compelled it to add backdoors r/anime_titties : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/applesucks : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/apple : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/worldnews : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/tech : “Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row” r/iphone : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row r/technews : Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government row Msmash / Slashdot : Apple Removes Cloud Encryption Feature From UK After Backdoor Order 10 MacRumors Forums : Apple Pulls Encrypted iCloud Security Feature in UK Amid Government Backdoor Demands