Apple and Meta are publicly opposing a new Canadian bill that they say could force tech companies to break encryption or build backdoors into their products. Here are the details.
Last year, Apple got into a high-profile dispute with the British government after the UK issued an order forcing companies to put backdoors in their encryption systems.
This prompted Apple to stop offering Advanced Data Protection to new users in the country, while existing users would eventually be required to disable it. The British government reportedly ended up backing down under pressure from the US.
At the time, Apple made it clear that it had never, and would never “buil(d) a backdoor or master key to any of (its) products or services.“
This very public spat rekindled a debate over government access to encrypted Apple user data that was reminiscent of the San Bernardino case, when the FBI made a similar request before dropping it after finding another way into the iPhone without Apple’s help.
Flash-forward to today, and Apple is again potentially facing a similar situation, this time in Canada. As reported by Reuters, a new bill could give the government power to force companies to break encryption or build backdoors into their products.
The proposal, known as Bill C-22, would expand the investigative tools available to Canadian law enforcement for accessing digital information tied to criminal investigations.
Although it does not specifically mention encryption, Apple argues that the proposal’s access powers could still be used to compel companies to weaken encrypted services.
Here’s Apple to Reuters:
“At a time of rising and pervasive threats from malicious actors seeking access to user information, Bill C-22, as drafted, would undermine our ability to offer the powerful privacy and security features users expect from Apple. […] This legislation could allow the Canadian government to force companies to break encryption by inserting backdoors into their products – something Apple will never do.”
While the bill is still being debated in the House of Commons, Reuters notes that it has been proposed “by Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, which gained a parliamentary majority last month.”
Apple’s concerns were echoed by Meta, whose executives said in prepared testimony that, “as drafted, the bill could require companies like Meta to build or maintain capabilities that break, weaken, or circumvent encryption or other zero-knowledge security architectures, and force providers to install government spyware directly on their systems.”
To read Reuters’ full report, follow this link.
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