In the United States, the FBI came after Apple for its strong encryption. The encryption protects people’s privacy worldwide. This keeps people safe from theft and identity theft, authoritarian nations, discrimination, hate crimes and honor killings, and more. Encryption keeps our banking and business transactions secure, the only reason we’re able to do them at all. It even protects our governments from spying, who can trust Apple’s technology to protect their diplomats.
However, encryption isn’t selective. It also protects criminals. But should millions of people have to risk their safety and privacy for a few bad eggs? Of course not. That’s Apple’s opinion, and, if you rely on Apple’s security to protect your personal and private information, likely yours as well.
As governments overstep their reach and look to vilify their citizens, Apple’s security becomes their primary target. The Australian government took this a step further. Australian politicians have drafted the “Access and Assistance Bill.” This incredibly vague bill would not only give Australian law enforcement a backdoor into your phone, it would also force companies to make backdoor access into smart speakers and TVs, turning the electronics in your house into government bugs.
A smart TV that can spy on you for the government? That’s a little too easy to compare to 1984, don’t you think?
The Access and Assistance Bill
Australia’s bill is similar to the FBI’s requests over the years. The FBI wants the right to force Apple into writing a backdoor into every iPhone. The problem is, not only would this compromise iPhone security worldwide, but it would involve forcing software developers to write something against their will. This is a direct violation of freedom of speech. Furthermore, since the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations have the same rights as human beings, it would be a violation of Apple’s freedom of speech (I know, America is absurd, but, for once, it works in our favor).
The bill would require backdoors, that is, security bypasses, for every electronic device. It’s an incredibly vague bill, which is Apple’s issue with it. Apple is willing to work with law enforcement, but they don’t want to hurt customer security in the process. Australia’s bill is so vague, the country could potential use their newfound rights to turn every smart device into a spying tool.
Apple’s Rebuttal
Apple has assisted law enforcement in Australia in over 26,000 cases. They can help through iCloud backups, unencrypted phones, or advice on how to break into a poorly secured phone. However, they are unwilling to do this for regular citizens, and they do not want to compromise the security of people who have not committed a crime. This is why they require a warrant before assisting and refuse to break security on their devices. Apple points out that, if the government forces them to create backdoors into their devices, they could force any tech company to do the same. A law such as this would set a dangerous precedent.
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5001477-Apple-comments-to-Australian-parliament.html
Apple wrote up a seven-page rebuttal, embedded above, arguing that the bill is too vague and would hurt privacy and security worldwide. They also point out that strong encryption protects Australia’s businesses and infrastructure. Without encryption, hackers could easily gain access to any device. Hackers could take advantage of systems people rely on, as well as steal citizens’ data.
It is imperative that this law include a firm mandate that prohibits the weakening of encryption or security protections. Encryption is the single best tool we have to protect data and ultimately lives.
-Apple
The bill has forced Apple to, once again, explain basic computer security to politicians. Once a backdoor is created, even if only the government has the keys to use it, hackers will eventually be able to exploit it. The keys will leak, or bad agents within police forces will sell the keys on the black market, making millions. Tech companies and programmers the world over have warmed governments that security, once compromised, can never work again. Finally, Apple points out that the law would have global ramifications, and could even violate the law in other nations.
These Bills Make No Sense
Let’s say you’re a criminal. Are you going to do your messaging over iMessage if the government wins the right to break into iMessage? No! You’ll use Signal, or some other app. You can always create your own app, your own encryption, or use something else. Therefore, these bills exclusively impact law-abiding citizens. Since average people don’t think about sneaking around government security and scrutiny every day, the only people who would be impacted by violations to phone security and privacy would be individual citizens.
Thieves and even police have stolen private photos of women from their devices. Citizens are under constant threat of identity theft. Banks and businesses rely on this strong security to do business. Minority groups or political factions trapped in authoritarian nations rely on the security in their phones to keep them safe from harm. These are the people who would suffer if Australia or the U.S.’s FBI had their way. Criminals would be completely unaffected. That’s why these laws make no sense, they hurt the people they’re meant to protect, and do nothing to wrongdoers. It’s because of this that we know these are nothing more than authoritarian power grabs made by desperate countries, seeking control over its citizens, not by policing agencies looking out for the welfare and well-being of its citizens.
Sources:
- Apple, via Document Cloud
- Peter Cau, 9to5Mac
- Juli Clover, MacRumors
- Zack Whittaker, Techcrunch