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Apple Threatens to Pull FaceTime and iMessage in the UK Over Proposed Surveillance Law Changes
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Sadly if labour get in , sir keir starmer QC and millionaire isn’t exactly going to change much
Another sad day for humans, and their privacy. I hope Brits protest and not let this happen. I hope Apple sticks to their theoretical morals as well 🤞🤞
While I would agree that iMessage doesn't have the same kind of marketshare in the UK (other apps are generally more popular), it would be bad for the government if Apple said in public that it was removing iMessage and FaceTime from their devices due to the law.
These services are pretty widely known, and the more of them that threaten to withdraw, the worse it will look.
These services are pretty widely known, and the more of them that threaten to withdraw, the worse it will look.
1. iOS has over 50% market share in The UK.
2. WhatsApp would be equally affected by this and is also objecting.
Is this anything to do with trying to access Johnstons's WhatsApp messages?
All of which supports the notion that iMessage and FaceTim would not be missed too much in UK or Europe. As you write, about 50% already don't have them now, and those that do also use WhatsApp already, in some cases even as the dominant protocol.
As a result, Apple probably won't lose sales if they dropped these two services, there will be grumbling, but not more.
But you could switch to WhatsApp with zero effort, as you do already use it, even if not as your main messenger.
The EU isn't the only market where regulators have indicated that sideloading ought to be possible, and of course, the EU itself is a big market, so simply ditching it isn't a good option for Apple.
If Apple is going to say "we won't sell in market X because of law Y", then they'll pretty quickly run out of places to sell.
I imagine with sideloading they can see that is a change worth making, whereas removing encryption and privacy features for just the UK isn't worth it to them.
Again this is your experience. Personally in many groupchats in iMessage and don’t even have whatsapp installed. I also know loads of people who are judging of the green bubbles.
I'm sure UK citizens will be exstatic without Signal, Whatsapp and Facetime.
When I was a teenager (mid 2000s) the Uk was everything to me and I had the dream of living in London.
Consider that some of my brothers are of half english heritage and I spent all my youth watching british sit-coms (Only fools and horses and Fawlty Towers being my favourites, among many others).
I was in love with the traditional british culture, especially its former "edge" and freedom of expression; it really felt like the UK was the place where the most freedom was held in Europe.
It genuinely breaks my heart to see a country doing such a remarkable 180 on its character, and I still can't really wrap my mind around it.
When I was a teenager (mid 2000s) the Uk was everything to me and I had the dream of living in London.
Consider that some of my brothers are of half english heritage and I spent all my youth watching british sit-coms (Only fools and horses and Fawlty Towers being my favourites, among many others).
I was in love with the traditional british culture, especially its former "edge" and freedom of expression; it really felt like the UK was the place where the most freedom was held in Europe.
It genuinely breaks my heart to see a country doing such a remarkable 180 on its character, and I still can't really wrap my mind around it.
those stats didn't suggest any of what you just said.
it was solely about brand.
however, lets extrapolate and say 50% do have imessage and facetime (whether they use it or not).
whether they also have whatsapp is an unknown.
Fixed it for you…
We’re laughing at you, not with you. Where did those stats come from?
You forgot, “Sources say…” 😉
Using FaceTime and iMessages is not advocating for anarchy. 😆
If that was the UK's aim, it backfired spectacularly.
The EU is far from perfect, but many states within the union enjoy a relatively much better privacy for their citizens.
For example we don't have threads (yet) because it breaks pretty much every single law on data management.
they'll have the same problem when the new battery law that is being proposed kicks in in 2027. and they didn't win with the USB-C fight either.
1. "far larger" refers to Android market share in US, not Android versus iOS.
2. The article, and the comment, is about Apple pulling iMessage and FaceTime. Not about the merits of the law. WA has not threatened to pull.
Apple has already submitted itself to China’s demands for the ability to monitor its citizens, so it seems hypocritical to fight it in the UK, the U.S. and other so-called free democracies.
The bottom line is that ALL governments, even democratic ones, tend toward authoritarianism. It’s their nature to want to control everything.
The bottom line is that ALL governments, even democratic ones, tend toward authoritarianism. It’s their nature to want to control everything.
the country is what the people vote for
No - it was to rid ourselves of EU overlordship and control. Nothing to ever suggest that we wouldn't increase similar or more extensive things ourselves! My main concern is that, as ever, they will use "national security" as a blanket expression to cover everything and it will be outsourced to the private sector which usually leaks like a sieve.