IS THERE no stone that Two Tier Keir and his henchwoman Yvette Cooper will leave unturned in their Stasi surveillance quest? Most readers will be aware that the tech giant Apple has acceded to the Home Office order asking for access to encrypted files stored in the cloud. They’ve confirmed they are removing a tool called Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from use in the UK, which is what ensured account holders privacy, as files were end-to-end encrypted. No longer. Owners of Apple iPhones must no longer assume their communications are private. The demand, issued under the sweeping surveillance powers of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (dubbed the ‘Snooper’s Charter’ by civil-liberties groups), Freddie Attenborough wrote last week, has raised serious concerns over privacy and free speech. The infrastructure for surveillance will exist, regardless of whether it is ever needed. As Jefferey Jaxen writes on his substack, the move by Apple adds to the growing division along the line of free speech and open debate:
- As countries like the UK, Germany, and other EU ‘allies’ of America are becoming the antithesis of respecting their citizens’ speech and privacy, the world is rapidly fragmenting into two opposing ideologies.
- The US appears to be leading a new First Amendment revival with the likes of Vice President J D Vance’s free speech world tour.
- America, by way of the recent commentary of Vance, has warned that countries not respecting free speech would be open to demotions in relation to trade and basic alliances.
Jaxen ends by asking: ‘Will the Trump administration and its advisors go all the way with this idea to snap misbehaving regimes back into line? The negotiation tool is there waiting to be wielded with ease.’
For the Black Belt Barrister, it’s a fresh assault on your freedom. Here he says he believes Apple will make a legal challenge and also advises on what we can do to protect ourselves.
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