The government seeks to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016. It wants messaging services to clear security features with the Home Office before releasing them to customers. The act lets the Home Office demand security features are disabled, without telling the public.

The IPA also enables the storage of internet browsing records and authorises the bulk collection of personal data in the UK. Due to the secrecy surrounding these demands, little is known about how many have been issued and complied with.

Under the update, this would have to be immediate. Currently, there must be a review, there can also be an independent oversight process, and a technology company can appeal before taking any action.

Because of the secrecy surrounding these demands, little is known about how many have been issued and whether they have been complied with. But many messaging services currently offer end-to-end encryption - so messages can be unscrambled by only the devices sending and receiving them.

The Tame Apple Press is trying to portray Apple as standing up to the evil government that wants to spy on its customers and to be fair. The IPA is an evil government spying charter.  However, Apple’s motivations for opposing it are nothing to do with customers and everything to do with Apple.

The company opposes the requirement to inform the Home Office of any changes to product security features before they are released, the requirement for non-UK-based companies to comply with changes that would affect their product globally, and having to act immediately if a request to disable or block a feature is received from the Home Office without review or an appeals process.

Apple highlighted that some requested feature changes would require a software update, so could only be implemented with public knowledge. Apple claims the proposals “constitute a serious and direct threat to data security and information privacy” and would affect people outside the UK.

It would be more convenient for Apple just to pull services like ‌FaceTime‌ and iMessage from the UK and not worry about it.