Apple has removed its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature from UK customers following a request from the British government for access to encrypted user data.
The decision means iCloud data such as photos and documents will no longer have end-to-end encryption, making it accessible to Apple and, with a warrant, law enforcement agencies.
“We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy. Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before,” said Apple in a statement.
“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the UK. As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” the iPhone maker said in a statement according to the Guardian.
The change comes after the UK Home Office invoked the Investigatory Powers Act, requiring companies to provide access to encrypted data. Apple had previously said it “never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and never will.”
Cybersecurity experts are warning this move is bad for consumers. The move aligns with a long-standing argument from security officials: strong encryption, like that offered by ADP, hinders their ability to investigate serious crimes such as terrorism, organized crime, and child exploitation.
Without access to encrypted data, authorities claim they are effectively “blind” to communications and backups that could contain critical evidence, even when they follow legal processes to obtain warrants.
While iMessage and FaceTime remain end-to-end encrypted, new iCloud users in the UK lost access to ADP on Friday, and existing users will have to disable the feature at a later date. Apple said it remains committed to offering strong security and hopes to reinstate ADP in the UK in the future.
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As bad as Canada has become over the last decade around freedom of speech, there are worse places. Europe has abandoned idea completely and barely even pretend anymore. We are getting there.