By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO, May 7 (Reuters) – Apple has publicly opposed a Canadian bill that the company says could require it to break the encryption of its devices if passed.
Bill C-22 was proposed by Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, which gained a parliamentary majority last month and is currently being debated in the House of Commons. Canadian law enforcement officials say the bill would help them investigate security threats earlier and act more quickly. It is part of a broader push by governments to expand lawful access to encrypted data, a move tech companies say risks weakening user security.
The Canadian bill contains provisions that, depending on how they are implemented, could be similar to a UK law data access provision order sent to Apple last year.
That order prompted Apple to withdraw a feature allowing users to store data in its cloud with end-to-end encryption. U.S. officials later said Britain had dropped the request after the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, raised concerns it could violate a cloud data treaty.
End-to-end encryption means that only the user – not even Apple or law enforcement – can access the data without a key. The technology is widely used in services such as Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Apple’s iMessage, and security experts say it provides powerful protections against spying and cybercrime.
“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,” Apple said in a statement. “This legislation could allow the Canadian government to force companies to break encryption by inserting backdoors into their products – something Apple will never do.”
Executives from Meta Platforms were also scheduled to testify at a hearing about the bill on Thursday.
Public Safety Canada and the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco. Ismail Shakil, AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter contributed reporting; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)