I bet nobody had ‘Meta arguing for privacy on Apple’s behalf’ on their tech bingo cards, but that’s exactly what the social networking company is hoping to do.
Meta has asked the court’s permission to give evidence in support of Apple’s privacy battle with the British government over a feature intended to apply end-to-end encryption to almost all iCloud data …
Apple’s privacy battle with the British government
At present, some of your iCloud data is fully protected by end-to-end encryption (E2EE), meaning that not even Apple can access it. But some categories use a weaker form of encryption, where Apple also knows the key. This means that it could be legally forced to hand over data on receipt of demands by law enforcement or intelligence services.
Apple wanted to change this, by introducing Advanced Data Protection (ADP). This optional feature lets users enable E2EE to virtually all their data.
The British government responded by secretly demanding that Apple create a backdoor into this data, not just for British citizens, but for all iCloud users worldwide. The secrecy clause meant that Apple wasn’t even allowed to reveal that it had received this demand.
The company responded very cleverly, by announcing that it would disable ADP for British users in a way that made the reason clear without explicitly stating it.
Apple also went to court to fight the secret order. The UK government not only wanted the hearing to be held behind closed doors, it didn’t even want Apple to be able to reveal that the hearing was even taking place. However, judges turned down this request, saying the public had a right to know it was happening.
BBC News reports that Meta wants to give evidence in support of Apple’s position. Like iMessage, WhatsApp messages are E2E encrypted.
WhatsApp has applied to submit evidence to the court which is hearing Apple’s bid to have the Home Office request overturned.
Mr Cathcart said: “WhatsApp would challenge any law or government request that seeks to weaken the encryption of our services and will continue to stand up for people’s right to a private conversation online.”
This intervention from the Meta-owned platform represents a major escalation in what was an already extremely high-profile and awkward dispute between the UK and the US.
Privacy campaigners have welcomed Meta’s stance, saying it’s important that as many voices as possible are heard.
9to5Mac’s Take
As we’ve argued before, the British government was spectacularly stupid for making its demand a worldwide one, as that sparked outrage in the US and elsewhere. Apple’s stance has also turned a niche feature into headline news.
The more companies who speak up in support of Apple, the more news coverage the issue attracts, and the more likely it is that the UK government will eventually (and quietly) back down.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
<