Apple has voiced significant anxieties about suggested modifications to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), worried that these alterations might enable the UK government to clandestinely overrule privacy and security updates to Apple’s products and services. The technology corporation has cautioned that should these modifications be approved, they could impact not just UK customers, but all users worldwide.
The IPA was originally ratified in 2016 to grant UK authorities legal access to user information for criminal investigations. The suggested modifications, revealed in November of the previous year, would mandate companies to notify UK officials of any projected updates that might restrict the government’s access to such data, including updates affecting users outside the UK.
Apple labelled these modifications as an “unprecedented government overreach” and contended that it would be inappropriate for the UK Home Office to serve as the global arbiter of security technology. Additionally, Apple cautioned that these alterations could unsettle the international market for security technologies and expose users to increased risk.
The UK Home Office has justified these proposed changes, asserting they do not grant powers for the Secretary of State to sanction or reject technical changes, but merely require companies to inform them of pertinent changes ahead of implementation. The Home Office also stated that these changes do not directly pertain to end-to-end encryption.
However, privacy proponents have expressed worries, suggesting that the modifications could transform private firms into extensions of the surveillance state and compromise the security of devices and the internet. Apple also highlighted potential clashes with EU and US legislation, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
