Privacy experts have issued a warning about proposed new laws in the UK, expressing concern that they could normalize the surveillance of personal devices. These proposed changes are part of an update to the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which was already criticized for its extraordinarily intrusive surveillance powers when it was initially passed in 2016.
The new proposals would require messaging services to get government approval before introducing security features,and could require authorities to disable some features without public disclosure. This has raised alarm, with Apple threatening to remove FaceTime and iMessage from the UK if these plans are implemented.
Harry Halpin, CEO of a privacy-focused startup in Switzerland called Nym Technologies, has been one of the leading critics, warning that the new rules could lead to "surveillance by default on everyone's devices."
He warned TNW that tampering with security features meant to protect users without their knowledge, could have dangerous consequences and put users at risk of exploitation by adversaries, be they criminals or political entities."
Halpin's main concern revolves around the potential impact on the upcoming online safety bill, which ostensibly aims to remove harmful content from the Internet. However, there are fears that the bill could force the inclusion of backdoors for end-to-end encryption. Notably, companies such as Apple, Signal, and WhatsApp have refused to comply with such requirements.
Considering the combination of the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) and the Online Safety Bill, Halpin expressed apprehension that the enforcement could be "politically motivated". He stressed that implementing backdoors in communication technologies could open the door for anyone clever enough to exploit them, leaving users vulnerable to various threats.