- Google has just confirmed that it has not received any official request from the British government to weaken encryption or provide access to the stolen door to user data
- Earlier this year, Apple was invited to provide a steep encryption door in its advanced iCloud protection function
- This marks an increasing fracture in the way technological giants are affected by the law on controversial investigation powers of the United Kingdom and its global implications for privacy
Google has just admitted that the British government has not requested access to encrypted end -to -end user data.
Meanwhile, Apple was struck by a technical capacity notice (TCN) under the 2016 law of survey powers (IPA), forcing it to close its ICLOUD advanced protection function in the United Kingdom.
The backlash that followed the UK access to the Encrypted Eye-to-End-to-end data has echoed in the rest of the world. It turns out now that the request may have been more targeted than it seems, with Google apparently sheltered for the moment.
“We have not received a technical capacity review”
In February of this year, the British authorities asked that Apple will break its end -to -end encryption policies in the advanced data protection functionality (ADP). The ADP is not turned on by default, but when activated, it adds an additional safety layer. Even Apple itself cannot access the data that has been encrypted in this way; It is completely private.
Unsurprisingly, the order was not welcomed by a warm reception. The intervention in the assembly of the law on the Power of Investigation of the United Kingdom (IPA) led the American senators to investigate the question of whether other companies have also received similar requests.
According to Techcrunch, Google refused to answer questions about any involvement of the British government when it was invited by the American senator Roy Wyden. Companies that are subject to government surveillance orders are unable to disclose them under British law.
However, Wyden revealed that at least one technology giant confirmed that he had not received such an opinion. It turned out to be Meta, who said at the Wyden office in March that he had not received an order to dismember his encryption services.
Although Google remained silent, it seems to have broken this wish for silence in a statement to Techcrunch. Karl Ryan, Google spokesperson, said: “We have not received technical capacity notice.”
It is such a good confirmation as we are going to enter this situation. If Google had received such an opinion, this would imply that the British government arose if a stolen door could be added to its encryption from start to finish or not.
Ryan also told Techcrunch: “We have never built a mechanism or” stolen door “to bypass end -to -end encryption in our products. If we say that a product is encrypted from start to finish, it is.”
The British government could still go back
When he was asked to build a stolen door in its ADP service, Apple has chosen to deactivate the functionality for users in the United Kingdom, leaving them without access to additional data protection.
Although the use of one of the best VPN services can help stimulate British’s online confidentiality, this will certainly not replace the ICLOUD end -to -end encryption protection from which users of other countries can benefit from.
The order has been widely criticized worldwide, American legislators warning against “systemic vulnerabilities”. Meanwhile, Apple decided to challenge the request in court.
More recently, two British senior officials have revealed that the British government may have to abandon the pursuit of encryption times due to the decline in the United States government. “They don’t want us to play with their technological companies,” they said.
No matter where this affair finally leads, the fact that Apple was involved, but Google left unscathed, is an interesting development. Google’s hand -off status can reassure that the UK encryption requests are not as swept as they appeared for the first time -at least not yet.
