Apple, WhatsApp and Signal Will Leave the UK, Why?

Apple services, such as FaceTime and iMessage, were removed in the UK. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - Britons will lose access to Apple services, such as FaceTime and iMessage, if their government passes a new Online Safety Bill.

Apple stated that it is better to remove certain services, including FaceTime and iMessage from the country, rather than putting users at risk to weaken security which is indeed their priority.

The UK's new Online Security Bill was created to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016, which gave the Home Office the power to regulate the disabling of security features in messaging services without the public knowing, for investigative purposes.

In addition, Apple also contested other provisions of the bill, including having to notify UK Home Office of any product's security features prior to release and having to comply with changes such as providing a backdoor to end-to-end encryption.

According to Apple, this bill is deliberately designed to weaken security for its customers. In its rejection, the company claimed the bill would make UK Headquarters the de facto global arbiter on the levels of data security and encryption allowed.

The UK Headquarters is that part of the UK government responsible for security, immigration and other policy. The UK Headquarters responded to this by revealing, the bill was created to protect society from criminals, child sex offenders and terrorists.

"We are continuing to review all legislation to ensure it is as strong as possible and this consultation is part of that process - no decision has been made yet," said a UK Home Office representative, as quoted by BBC International and Mashable, Friday, July 21.

In this regard, Apple is not alone. WhatsApp which is owned by Meta and Signal also voiced their opposition. In fact, Signal also threatened to leave the country if the Online Safety Bill was passed.