Apple's top executive has called out the UK on its proposed spy law. According to Tim Cook, giving spy agencies a backdoor to citizen communications will have "very dire consequences." The CEO stressed that tech companies like Apple need to have end-to-end encryption to protect user privacy.
The draft investigatory powers bill includes, among others, the legal obligation of tech companies to break through encryptions. Cook said that the draft law would adversely affect "the good people" and let criminals who "know where to go" exploit the system, The Guardian reported.
Cook was also quoted saying, "You can just look around and see all the data breaches that are going on. These things are becoming more frequent." He added, "They can not only result in privacy breaches but also security issues. We believe very strongly in end-to-end encryption and no back doors. We don't think people want us to read their messages. We don't feel we have the right to read their emails."
The draft investigatory powers bill allows UK authorities to track and store every citizen's internet use. Each website, but not particular pages, would be stored for a maximum of 12 months. During this time, police and security services will be able to access the data without any need of a warrant.
Tim Cook's comments serve as additional reinforcement for the global backlash that the draft investigatory powers bill has received. Apple beefed up its focus on encryption and user privacy ever since the Snowden leaks revealed blanket spying activities on citizens.
The Verge reported that Cook had addressed President Obama recently when news broke out that Apple was being compelled to break into one of its devices to aid a court case. Obama had since dropped the pressure on tech companies to provide backdoors.
He was apparently convinced when Cook said that China may follow suit and demand this level of access to Apple devices if the US took the lead.
Wired quoted him, "Any back door is a back door for everyone. Everybody wants to crack down on terrorists. Everybody wants to be secure. The question is how. Opening a back door can have very dire consequences."
