In a chilling move for free speech, Apple Inc. has abandoned privacy protection for its to U.K. users.
Christina Maas reported for ReclaimTheNet that in the first week of February, U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s for the little guy Labour-led government told Apple to give the U.K. Stasi a virtual “backdoor” into all user data placed into the encrypted iCloud.
The government cited the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which, as Maas noted on February 7, is:
“…a law so Orwellian it’s lovingly referred to as the ‘Snoopers’ Charter.’ This piece of legislative overreach forces tech companies to comply with government spying requests while making it illegal to even disclose that such demands have been made. It’s the surveillance state’s dream—limitless power, zero accountability.”
And, at the time, she noted that Apple executives were considering pulling the plug on “Advanced Data Protection” (ADP) storage for U.K. users, rather than allowing a government to get the keys to its encryption, overall.
On Friday, February 21, the Apple execs pulled the plug, according to numerous outlets.
Writes Maas:
“This was an attempt to strong-arm one of the world’s most powerful tech companies into submission, setting a precedent that could crack open user privacy like an egg.
“Rather than comply, Apple responded with a very diplomatic version of hell no. Instead of weakening encryption for everyone, the company opted to remove ADP from the UK entirely. In a statement that practically oozed frustration, Apple declared:
“‘We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by Advanced Data Protection will not be available to our customers in the United Kingdom, given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy.’”
The biggest threat to customer privacy is, of course, the U.K. government, and the Apple executives implied that, should the U.K. government change, and become less threatening to privacy and the right to peacefully engage in private contract, they might return the ADP system to U.K. users.
Such a change seems unlikely.
As Maas notes:
“The UK government is, of course, justifying its demands with the usual talking points: criminals, terrorists, child abusers—all the greatest hits. And sure, no one’s arguing that law enforcement shouldn’t go after criminals. The problem is that this strategy treats everyone like a suspect. Remember, this is the same government that plans to spy on everyone’s bank accounts.”
Speech and privacy are not just luxuries; they are cornerstones of personal freedom. Apple’s ADP feature, which enabled end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensured that only users -- not governments -- could access their personal files (their speech). The U.K.’s demand to dismantle this protection wasn’t limited to its own citizens; it sought a universal key to unlock every user’s data worldwide. This wasn’t about catching criminals—it was about asserting dominance over individual autonomy. So, despite Apple ending the system for U.K. users, the company made a wise decision.
It is a decision that sends a powerful message: businesses can and should resist government overreach when it threatens the liberties of their customers.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that American tech companies be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while being protected from foreign crackdowns on American principles. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
