Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out against the UK’s proposed Investigatory Powers Bill, which would force companies to retain customer data and may also require them to install backdoors in their encrypted systems.
“To protect people who use any products, you have to encrypt,” Cook told the Telegraph. “You can just look around and see all the data breaches that are going on…we believe very strongly in end to end encryption and no back doors.”
Cook warned that such backdoors could lead to “dire consequences,” noting that a backdoor provided for investigators is a backdoor that could be used by “everyone.”
“It’s not the case that encryption is a rare thing that only two or three rich companies own and you can regulate them in some way. Encryption is widely available. It may make someone feel good for a moment but it’s not really of benefit. If you halt or weaken encryption, the people that you hurt are not the folks that want to do bad things. It’s the good people. The other people know where to go.”
Cook also argued that weakening security in one area can have adverse consequences for everyone, saying: “We are all connected, whether we like it or not.”
