Apple says new government laws could make phones insecure and will put UK citizens at risk

Company ‘urges’ UK government to change hugely controversial bill

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Apple has sounded the alarm over the UK government’s planned new laws for technology.

The upcoming Online Safety Bill includes new rules that would force messaging apps to scan through users’ chats for problem content. But now every major secure messaging tool has argued that would also mean weakening security for everybody else.

As such, the plans endanger UK citizens, Apple said. It joins other platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal in urging the government to reconsider the part of the rules that would give the government the power to weaken encryption, the technology that protects messages from being read while they are sent.

Apple’s intervention came alongside a new open letter, signed by more than 80 national and international civil society organisations, academics and cyberexperts, written to the government and urging it to rethink its plans. It called the bill “deeply troubling” and warned that the new rules would put security at risk.

Apple has criticised previous plans that also handed new powers to intelligence agencies and other organisations, such as the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act. But until now it has refrained from commenting on the Online Safety Bill, even as many of its competitors sounded the alarm on the powers included.

“End-to-end encryption is a critical capability that protects the privacy of journalists, human rights activists, and diplomats,” Apple said in a statement to the BBC.

“It also helps everyday citizens defend themselves from surveillance, identity theft, fraud, and data breaches. The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat to this protection, and could put UK citizens at greater risk.

“Apple urges the government to amend the bill to protect strong end-to-end encryption for the benefit of all.”

Other companies such as WhatsApp and Signal have categorically stated that they would not weaken encryption, even if it meant their apps being banned or otherwise hampered in the UK. Apple did not give any indication of how and whether it would comply with the new rules if they go into effect.