Why Apple is taking on Home Office’s new-look surveillance bill
Apple has launched a blistering attack on government proposals that would force tech firms to clear new privacy features with the Home Office.
The iPhone maker said the changes to the Investigatory Powers Act, which are under consultation, would pose a “serious and direct threat” to the security of user data.
In a nine-page submission, Apple said it would rather withdraw critical privacy measures in its services from the UK than adhere to the plans.
But what exactly does this law do, what’s being proposed now, and is Apple right to be so opposed to it?
‘Snooper’s charter’
The Investigatory Powers Act came into law in 2016, and was labelled a “snooper’s charter” by critics.
It included allowing security agencies and police to intercept suspicious communications, and permitting the Home Office to compel communications providers to remove encryption from communications or data.
Encryption is what protects messages from being seen by people outside the conversation. It’s used in popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
Advocates say it protects users from surveillance, theft, and fraud; while critics say it helps criminals thrive.
The government argued the bill would keep the UK safe from hostile threats and crack down on illegal activity.
A statement this week said the amendments will help keep the law relevant as technology develops and “protect the public from criminals, child sex abusers and terrorists”.
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What are the amendments?
Apple, which opposed the original bill, is particularly unhappy about three proposed changes.
One would force companies to tell the Home Office in advance of new security features they want to add. Those it doesn’t approve of would need to be disabled immediately.
Another would see expanded authority for the Home Office to force non-UK companies to comply with changes it wants them to make to security features.
Apple says this would give the UK an “authority that no other country has” and stifle innovation.
The Home Office insists the act includes “strong independent oversight” to regulate how the surveillance powers it gives public authorities are used. Sky News previously revealed the government has never used the bill to order WhatsApp owner Meta to let authorities access encrypted messages, for example.
Apple says the changes erode some of these protections and afford more direct power to the home secretary.
Dr Nathalie Moreno, data protection partner at Addleshaw Goddard, told Sky News they “don’t seem subject to the clear conditions or guardrails normally in place to make such reform”.
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Why is Apple so opposed?
Apple has been a prominent opponent of efforts to have authorities access user data, even in extreme cases.
Following a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in 2015, the firm went to court against the FBI to stop it breaking into an iPhone used by the killer.
It has since made privacy a major part of its brand, and even backtracked on its own plan to scan people’s iCloud content for child sexual abuse material after a backlash from customers and security experts.
Robin Wilton, a director at the Internet Society, said Apple’s latest intervention was timed for maximum impact.
It came a day after the Online Safety Bill, the government’s flagship internet safety legislation which could force companies to scan messages for abuse content, made it through the House of Lords.
Mr Wilton told Sky News: “It’s not only driven by the proposed amendments to this act, but their perception of the general policy direction of the UK government.”
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What is in the online safety bill?
Will Apple’s intervention have an impact?
Matthew Hodgson, the boss of UK-based messaging platform Element, which counts Britain’s Ministry of Defence among its clients, hopes the intervention of such a major company will scupper the proposals.
Mr Hodgson said firms were “not bluffing” by threatening to withdraw services from the UK due to the government’s stance on encryption. WhatsApp and Signal have claimed they will pull out if the Online Safety Bill forces them to let messages be scanned.
He told Sky News these “backdoors” could give bad actors the opportunity to break into them too.
“I am glad Apple is taking a strong line – the idea one has to seek permission from the government to add or change encryption on your product is terrifying,” he said.
“This strategy will only undermine our ability to provide secure communications because customers won’t trust us if they believe policy decisions have to be run past the government.”
The consultation is due to last for eight weeks.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We keep all legislation under review to ensure it is as strong as it can be, and this consultation is part of that process – no decisions have yet been made.”
The Online Safety Bill, meanwhile, is due to be debated by MPs after the summer break. Among its backers are children’s charities that have described private messaging as the “frontline” of child sexual abuse.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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