A War On Encrypted Messaging Is Brewing, And Apple Has Joined The Fight Against It

Apple Inc. AAPL has picked a side in the brewing war on encrypted messaging, joining 80 organizations and technology experts who have opposed the Online Safety Bill under consideration in the UK Parliament. Apple's defense is simple – the bill would put people at greater risk from data breaches and surveillance.

What Happened: Apple has joined the growing chorus against the war on encryption in the UK by opposing the Online Safety Bill, which would force messaging services to scan message contents for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

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Apple defended the need for encrypted messaging by citing the need for privacy. It also said that end-to-end encryption helps defend against data breaches and surveillance – since the contents of messages are encrypted, it makes it harder for malicious actors to access them.

"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.

"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," the company added.

The iMessage service uses end-to-end encryption, which means even Apple cannot read messages. Other popular messaging services like the Meta Platforms Inc.-owned META, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and Signal also use end-to-end encryption.

Why Is It Important: The Online Safety Bill will give the UK government backdoor access to end-to-end encryption. This would undermine the protocol itself, and malicious actors could use this backdoor to gain unauthorized access.

Apple's opposition to the Online Safety Bill comes after it announced plans in 2021 to scan its users' iPhones for CSAM content. The company eventually abandoned its proposal after backlash.

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