You can add a switch inside the program which makes it give up its E2E encryption keys to some random third party who asks, who is able to demonstrate to the program’s satisfaction that they are from the government. I don’t know about this particular case, but that is the type of feature that governments periodically try to demand that software companies add to E2EE products, and it is exactly as bad an idea as it sounds like. And yes, Apple is being good by telling them “absolutely not.” They have also said the same to the US government several times now.
Very, very occasionally, governments have succeeded in talking people into doing this. On every occasion that I know of, people who are not the government have started using the feature to eavesdrop on people’s communications. Even though it means they have to lie to the software! I know, it’s terrible, the things that people do in the modern world.
You can add a switch inside the program which makes it give up its E2E encryption keys to some random third party who asks, who is able to demonstrate to the program’s satisfaction that they are from the government. I don’t know about this particular case, but that is the type of feature that governments periodically try to demand that software companies add to E2EE products, and it is exactly as bad an idea as it sounds like. And yes, Apple is being good by telling them “absolutely not.” They have also said the same to the US government several times now.
Very, very occasionally, governments have succeeded in talking people into doing this. On every occasion that I know of, people who are not the government have started using the feature to eavesdrop on people’s communications. Even though it means they have to lie to the software! I know, it’s terrible, the things that people do in the modern world.
Thank you!