WhatsApp fights Yvette Cooper's ‘dangerous' attempt to break encryption
Mark Zuckerberg's WhatsApp has challenged a 'dangerous' attempt by the Home Office to secretly force Apple to build a backdoor in its encryption technology.
The private messaging app said it had intervened in a case at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, submitting evidence criticising an order by Yvette Cooper's department that requires Apple to break an 'advanced data protection' feature that encrypts iPhone back-ups.
Will Cathcart, the head of Meta-owned WhatsApp, said: 'Liberal democracies should want the best security for their citizens. Instead, the UK is doing the opposite through a secret order.
'This case could set a dangerous precedent and embolden nations to try to break the encryption that protects people's private communication.'
Apple is challenging the 'technical capability notice' from the Home Office, issued in January, that ordered it to secretly install a backdoor into the encryption feature it introduced in 2022.
The iPhone-maker was legally barred from confirming the existence of the order, which emerged in US media reports. Disclosing the existence of the demand is illegal under UK surveillance laws.
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