The Washington Post has reported that the UK Government has allegedly ordered Apple to create a backdoor for security services to access users' encrypted data worldwide. This order is said to be issued under the UK's Investigatory Powers Act, which could potentially allow unrestricted access to all users' end-to-end encrypted files.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), an advocate for technology policy since 1972, has responded to these reports. CCIA President & CEO Matt Schruers expressed concerns over the implications of such an order.
Schruers stated, "As the recent Salt Typhoon breach makes clear, end-to-end encryption may be the only safeguard standing between Americans’ sensitive personal and business data and foreign adversaries."
He further commented on the potential impact of this order on privacy and security in the United States: "Reports that Apple has been secretly ordered by the UK Government to weaken its encryption, including in the United States, are a troubling development, if accurate. Decisions about Americans’ privacy and security should be made in America, in an open and transparent fashion, not through secret orders from abroad requiring keys be left under doormats."
