UK Backing Down on Apple Encryption Backdoor After Pressure From US (arstechnica.com) 36
Sir Keir Starmer's government is seeking a way out of a clash with the Trump administration over the UK's demand that Apple provide it with access to secure customer data, Financial Times reported Monday, citing two officials. From the report: The officials both said the Home Office, which ordered the tech giant in January to grant access to its most secure cloud storage system, would probably have to retreat in the face of pressure from senior leaders in Washington, including Vice President JD Vance.
"This is something that the vice president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved," said an official in the UK's technology department. "The Home Office is basically going to have to back down." Both officials said the UK decision to force Apple to break its end-to-end encryption -- which has been raised multiple times by top officials in Donald Trump's administration -- could impede technology agreements with the US.
"This is something that the vice president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved," said an official in the UK's technology department. "The Home Office is basically going to have to back down." Both officials said the UK decision to force Apple to break its end-to-end encryption -- which has been raised multiple times by top officials in Donald Trump's administration -- could impede technology agreements with the US.
ooh stopped clock! (Score:2, Insightful)
A stopped clock can be right twice a day. And two wrongs can make a right.
I am not sad about this. Vance is still a deeply sketchy person. Starmer is still a petty authoritarian and a hypocrite (and yet still better than the last lot), and back doors are still stupid. Political pressure over commercial laws is dubious too. Also fuck the police they can't be trusted with this sort of thing either.
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Democrats keep screaming that Republicans want to create a government small enough that it fits in your bedroom. Any sane person would realize the government is already there watching... the government is ceiling cat.
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Re: ooh stopped clock! (Score:1)
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... the vegetable stew they were cooking 3 Doors Down from me.
Was it kryptonite vegetable stew?
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Democrats keep screaming that Republicans want to create a government small enough that it fits in your bedroom.
Which is a straw man. The Democrats are screaming because tasks the government actually has, are slashed (like disaster relief), while others, like supervision of the population, are not. What do you think the slogan "Defund the Police" was meant for?
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Which is a straw man.
I only used that as a lead-in to the ceiling cat joke. Politics on slashdot are waaay too dangerous.
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Vance is the person who says people shouldn't be given a handout, yet crows about the full ride he got to Harvard. Because he was poor.
Vance is also the person who whines about elite universities brainwashing people with "socialist" ideas, while having gone to said elite university.
Vance has also said that Trump was America's Hitler, that Trump is a total fraud, that he never liked the guy and was a Never Trumper. Now he licks the boots of America's Hitl
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Now he (Vance) licks the boots of America's Hitler and carries out his policies.
Only for long enough to sink Trump and step into his shoes. Then he'll carry out those same policies, but he'll be the (nominal) boss. The real boss will be Peter Thiel.
Have you noticed how silent Vance has been on the Epstein files? He wants distance between himself and that mess, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's working behind the scenes to expose dirt that will sink der Trumpenfuhrer.
Re:ooh stopped clock! (Score:4, Interesting)
In this case the backdoor was already there. Reading between the lines, the order seems to have been about accessing cloud backups using the keys which Apple already has (when you don't turn on ADP). Apple has the backdoor, the UK wanted the keys.
Trump and Vance protected digial rights? (Score:5, Insightful)
If the UK backs down because of Trump and Vance, it will demonstrate that you're not safe, digitally, why? The experts who know why, and can explain it to a toddler, weren't enough. The toddler sitting in the White House, who can't explain anything, or rationally handle emotion, is enough, and that says what about digital security? The extreme irrational danger of this, isn't just head shaking, it's not disappointment, it's full on mental anarchy.
The UK (and I'm sure other countries to follow), will sell you out for national security, on the back of failing to understand the subject, until someone who understands no subject, raised prices due to tariffs, probably thinking it relates to traffic, due to the double f's?
Only because (Score:2)
The US wants first dibs on it. You never know when someone could say mean things about dear leader or seek out abortion services on their phone. Oh and don't forget about people in the country illegally...
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Oh and don't forget about people in the country illegally...
Oh and don't forget about people they don't like, regardless of whether they're in the country illegally. FTFY.
Refusal only for the UK? What about US? (Score:4, Insightful)
Interesting: Apple refuses to create back doors for the UK. Which I can understand (back doors are dangerous etc etc etc).
What I am missing is: There is no pressure from the US for Apple to create equivalent backdoors... And yet the US security services would have the same needs and wants as the UK ones...
Any security service would surely try to put pressure to _have_ such back doors. But there is no outcry from the US 3-letter-agencies?
Either the US 3-letters-agencies are incompetent. Or they already _have_ backdoors, and thus do not need to put pressure on Apple. I suspect the latter.
Basically: I think the story is that "The US only wants the US have to have backdoors. Not anybody else."
Re:Refusal only for the UK? What about US? (Score:4, Informative)
What I am missing is: There is no pressure from the US for Apple to create equivalent backdoors... And yet the US security services would have the same needs and wants as the UK ones...
No, there have been plenty of times the US government has tried to pressure Apple into creating back doors into their products - and I've no doubt we'll see it happen again. Apple has resisted because privacy is a major selling point for them US law (at least currently) allows them to refuse the government's requests.
But this was basically a case of the UK telling a US company they had to give them access to all data on *all* iPhones worldwide - not just UK iPhones. If the UK had made a law specific to UK users iPhones, Apple likely would either have acceded or would have just turned off the relevant services in the UK. Apple has certainly done similar things at the behest of China's government.
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Apple *did* turn ADP off for UK iPhone users. Should the Home Office back down, I'd like Apple to not only reinstate it but also have a settings screen appear the next time the phone is rebooted (say, after an update) that urges users to enable it as an extra "fuck you" to the Home Office.
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What are you talking about. The number of stories we've covered here about the FBI and CIA complaining, pressuring, and even a US legislative attempt https://it.slashdot.org/story/... [slashdot.org] at getting Apple to provide back doors runs well over a page in the search results now.
Re: Refusal only for the UK? What about US? (Score:2)
The last two big pushes for backdoors were under Clinton and Obama.
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We know that Israeli company can easily get through just about any iPhone. We just don't know how.
We do know that if they hack the phone and their ability to hack the phone is questioned during a court case the court case gets immediately dropped rather than risk the tool used to hack the phone entering into the court record.
Whatever the case it's pretty clear that Apple computer will prioritize sales ove
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Corporations are not, and never will be, your friend.
Neither is government. You are all on your own. Govern yourselves accordingly.
Re: Refusal only for the UK? What about US? (Score:2)
PRISM?
Wannabe dictators (Score:2, Insightful)
Sadly, lots of European countries have wannabe dictators in their governments. Those in the EU get it twice, because the EU commission is the worst of all.
Encryption backdoors, data retention, hate speech (especially insults aimed at politicians), outlawing political parties that don't toe the line. There isn't a totalitarian ides they don't love.
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If you're an American and you're writing this, the level of irony is absolutely off the chart.
Heil Drumpf!
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Obvious translation (Score:3, Interesting)
UK Backing Down on Apple Encryption Backdoor After Pressure From US
The U.S. already has a backdoor and doesn't want to share.
5 eyes can already get access (Score:1)
What about other companies? (Score:2)
The ones that are not subject to any economic deals? Are they qualify for an exception, too? Surely there's got to be equal treatment for everyone?
The UK gave up its sovereignty (Score:4, Interesting)
Not that the left wing is smart enough over there to point that out. Similarly I keep losing jobs to people in London because they have universal Health Care and I is an American cost about an extra 8 to 10 grand per year just on matching payments to health insurance companies.
Like the old saying goes divided we beg united we bargain
wait wont any one think of the children ? (Score:2)