Since last June, the Australian government has been considering a bill that will oblige technology companies, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, among others, to provide assistance to government agencies investigating violent crimes, a bill that could set a precedent around the world.
According to the government of the country, the encryption of communications is a problem, since every time are more used by terrorist groups and criminals organized to avoid being discovered. This is the premise on which most governments rely to be able to access user data despite being encrypted.
As we can read on TechCruch, Apple has sent a 7-page letter to the Australian Parliament criticizing this bill. According to Apple, the bill is "dangerously ambiguous" and explains the importance of encryption to protect national security and the lives of citizens of criminals who are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to access devices managed by iOS.
According to Apple, faced with these threats, now is not the time to make encryption vulnerable. There is a profound risk in making criminals' work easier, not harder. Encryption is getting stronger, not weaker, so it's the best way to protect against these types of threats.
Apple questions the idea that weaker encryption is required to assist law enforcement investigations, law enforcement agencies that have already processed more than 26.0000 requests for data to help solve crimes in Australia in the last 5 years.
Apple also claims that the proposal is vague and does not specify many aspects since according to the bill, the government could order companies that make smart home speakers to install listening devices or requiring device manufacturers to have a tool to unlock them.
The Cupertino-based company ends the letter by stating that would set a dangerous precedent with serious implications for the future of smartphone encryption.