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U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

washingtonpost.com

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Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#31
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple doesn't have the same dominance in the UK than it does in the US, so the UK would probably just tough that one out.

I have zero clue where you’re getting this from. iPhone is incredibly popular and every politician has one.

It's very likely that iCloud is outright disabled via MDM on those politician iPhones anyway, so they probably wouldn't even notice.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#32

The bad guys know where to find solid open source crypto for their cloud backups and whatnot. Therefore you know this is not about chasing the bad guys. It's about keeping the Average Joe under the thumb.

I don't know to what extent this is true. A lot of criminals strike me as good at chopping off fingers etc but not computer stuff. There absolutely is a balance between Average Joe's right to privacy and privacy restrictions for fighting crime. Without undermining the former, I'm astounded how HN discounts the latter 100%. It is real.

I disagree. There should no compromise on my privacy ever. We are not (yet) in a dictatorship and I’m not a criminal. Why should I suffer because governments are incompetent?

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#33

The bad guys know where to find solid open source crypto for their cloud backups and whatnot. Therefore you know this is not about chasing the bad guys. It's about keeping the Average Joe under the thumb.

I don't know to what extent this is true. A lot of criminals strike me as good at chopping off fingers etc but not computer stuff. There absolutely is a balance between Average Joe's right to privacy and privacy restrictions for fighting crime. Without undermining the former, I'm astounded how HN discounts the latter 100%. It is real.

Something something ounce of freedom something something safety something something deserves neither

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#34
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple doesn't have the same dominance in the UK than it does in the US, so the UK would probably just tough that one out.

I have zero clue where you’re getting this from. iPhone is incredibly popular and every politician has one.

True, the UK is one of the few European countries where iOS is bigger than android just like in the US. I work in mobile management and we see those a lot in northern Europe. Where they're scarce is in South and East Europe.

Here in Spain no person has even tried to SMS me (which is the fallback for iMessage which I don't have) for 6 years or so :). I also don't have RCS enabled. It's all WhatsApp and Telegram.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#35
post #3

The government did get more than third of the votes. So this is the choice of democratically elected government and the voters and as such should be followed.

[flagged]

Of course, the U.K. is rather famously not a republic, but rather a democratic monarchy. Now, if only the King would do his job and refuse assent to the Parliament when it does something wrong.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#36
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is green bubble iMessage or SMS? iMessage is barely used in the UK, WhatsApp is the default messaging platform here

Green bubble is messages you sent via SMS (and so may have been charged by your carrier depending on your cellular plan) Blue bubble is messages you sent via iMessage. All incoming messages are grey, regardless of whether they were sent to you via SMS or iMessage.

> and so may have been charged by your carrier depending on your cellular plan

I don't know of any UK plan that charges.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have zero clue where you’re getting this from. iPhone is incredibly popular and every politician has one.

True, the UK is one of the few European countries where iOS is bigger than android just like in the US. I work in mobile management and we see those a lot in northern Europe. Where they're scarce is in South and East Europe. Here in Spain no person has even tried to SMS me (which is the fallback for iMessage which I don't have) for 6 years or so :). I also don't have RCS enabled. It's all WhatsApp and Telegram.

Yes. Due to higher prices, iPhones are more popular in richer countries.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#38
post #3

The government did get more than third of the votes. So this is the choice of democratically elected government and the voters and as such should be followed.

This sort of policy comes from the Home Office regardless of who gets elected. The spooks always want everything.

You could probably make an ECHR argument about it, but even Germany who are most paranoid about Stasi-like behavior have some sort of rights carveout for law enforcement purposes.

Re: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts

#40
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have zero clue where you’re getting this from. iPhone is incredibly popular and every politician has one.

It's very likely that iCloud is outright disabled via MDM on those politician iPhones anyway, so they probably wouldn't even notice.

The phones tend to be personal phones. We found that out when there was a big investigation trying to retrieve Whatsapp messages.
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