- By Vikas Yadav
- Fri, 21 Jul 2023 01:16 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
JE Technology Desk: Apple, a company famous across the globe for its premium iPhones and other tech accessories, has said that it may remove iMessage and FaceTime service in the UK but not compromise on its commitment to end-to-end encryption, 9To5Mac citing BBC reported.
According to the report, the Online Safety Bill is under scrutiny and would give powers to the UK administration to scan through these encrypted messages of social media apps. The government claims while the laws have already been in force, they are not in line with the security structure of the advanced technologies.
The tech giant proposed its points in a nine-page document that opposes the bill. It disagrees with the capability to offer a loophole in the security mechanism to read user messages. It also differs from the proposal to report changes to security features in products before their release and more similar obligations.
Apple said it would not push such modifications for one nation that could compromise the security of users and would prefer disabling FaceTime and iMessage in the UK. Currently, the bill is in its consultation phase, and the tech giants, including Apple, hope it could be updated considering the criticism.
"There is a degree of arrogance and ignorance from the government if they believe some of the larger tech companies will comply with the new requirements without a major fight," Professor Alan Woodward, a cyber-security expert from Surrey University, was quoted as saying by BBC about the bill.
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Apple is not the first company to voice concerns about this bill. Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp, had iterated earlier that the instant messaging app may cease operations if hard-pressed to snap end-to-end encryption by the authorities. Previously Signal also echoed on a similar note against the proposal that would give powers to the state to examine these messages on parameters of child abuse and illegal activity. You can read more on this here.