Digest opened free editor

Rola Khaleda, FT editor, chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Apple pulls the safest cloud storage service from the UK, and the confrontation is escalating about a secret government request to access customer data.

The company said on Friday that it was “no longer able to provide” Adv -Data Protection (ADP) to ICLOUD in Britain, which removes the system that ensures “comprehensive encryption” of the user’s information stored in American technology giant servers.

Last month, Apple received the “technical ability” notification under the UK investigation authorities law, a law called “SNOPER” by its critics, but the government believes it is necessary before law enforcement to investigate terrorism and sexual assault on children.

The law prohibits companies that receive such a notice from publicly discussing the receipt of such a request, which makes the Friday step on the first implicit confession in Apple in the situation.

It is believed that the use of IPA against Apple is the first such a case since the update of the law last year, and has caused the highest battle in the technology industry on encryption technology for nearly a decade.

“Apple remains committed to providing the highest level of safety for their personal data, and hopes that we will be able to do this in the future in the UK,” she said. “As we said several times before, we have never built a rear door or a mastery key for any of our products or services and we will never be able to do so.”

The Ministry of Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Requesting the so-called back door for user data has enabled law enforcement and security services-after obtaining an approved order from a judge-to benefit itself.

Law enjoys external powers, which means that the application of law in the United Kingdom would have been able to access iCloud data for Apple customers anywhere in the world, including in the United States.

After reports appeared on the UK’s order earlier this month, the technology industry rose to oppose the government’s move.

“If the UK is forcing the global back door at Apple’s security, this will make everyone in every country less safe,” said Will Kathcarte, president of WhatsApp at Meta. “The secret matter of one country risk our situation in danger and must be stopped.”

Since the latest amendments to the investigation powers law was moving through Parliament in early 2024, Apple said it was “deeply anxious” with what he described as “unprecedented” and indicated that she would withdraw any products affected by the United Kingdom.

But Alide Lloyd Owen, a professor at Southampton University and Internet security expert, said Apple’s move was “a dramatic and unnecessary response.”

“There are technical options that can facilitate the exceptional legal access,” Owen said. “Apple plays the policy for user data for user data to prove a point.”

The Apple, IMessage and FaceTime communication services are also encrypted. They were not subject to government order and remained available in the United Kingdom.

New users can no longer subscribe to the ICLoud ADP in the United Kingdom as of Friday. Apple said that customers in the UK who have already operated the setting would be required to disable the feature in order to continue using their ICLOUD account.

The system preparation method means that Apple cannot disable the feature itself. Under the Opt-in ADP service, Icloud-and not the Apple itself-with the encryption keys needed to cancel their data lock.

“Instead of forcing something that he does not want to do, Apple made the decision to withdraw ADP from the UK market,” said Edward Lewis, CEO of Cyber ​​Cyber ​​Security.

“This means only that the absolute encryption, which enabled the bad actors to do things that no reasonable member of the audience has now supported. This is not necessarily a bad thing.”

But Matthew Senkler, UK’s chief manager at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a commercial group of technology, said that weakening the encryption was a “disturbing step back.”

He said: “Law enforcement authorities must work with companies to help protect people’s privacy from increasing global threats, and not to force them to cancel important security improvements.”