Apple has slammed what it called an "unprecedented overreach" by the UK, which suggested it should have veto power over security features at all the world's biggest tech companies. The UK House of Lords will debate revisions to the country’s 2016 Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) on January 30, 2024. Earlier in 2015, the Investigatory Powers Act was criticized by Apple for the method it proposed at the time to crack encryption.
According to BBC News, Apple is attacking the latest update proposal, and Apple objects to the UK's veto power on security updates. For one thing, the new rules also don't allow Apple and other companies to disclose whether the government has vetoed their security systems, similar to the U.S. ban on companies disclosing push notification monitoring.
Apple said in a statement: "We are deeply concerned that proposed amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) before the UK Parliament put the privacy and security of users at risk. This is an unprecedented overreach by the government and, if enacted, the UK could seek to secretly veto new user protections around the world, preventing us from delivering these protections to our customers."
After Apple issued a statement, several civil liberties organizations in the UK also issued a statement jointly protesting the update. The groups, including Privacy International and Big Brother Watch, said the UK's plan "effectively turns private companies into weapons of the surveillance state and erodes the security of devices and the internet".
In addition, in September 2023, companies such as Apple and WhatsApp stated that they would stop operations in the UK if the government passed a law requiring the cracking of end-to-end encryption, and the UK subsequently abandoned this legislation of unclear meaning.