Protect Our Privacy: A Call to Action Against Government Surveillance and Anti-Encryption Policies

I am dismayed yet again by this country’s lack of regard for what should be our basic rights, and its desire to implement authoritarian mass surveillance against its citizens.

For a decade now, this country’s government has been pursuing an immoral and misguided anti-encryption policy. From a country that was key to the development of digital encryption this stance makes even less sense.

I had hoped this was the misguided fever dream of the Conservative Party but it seems that it’s just a general government policy, to attempt to undermine its citizens’ privacy.

Moreover the repeated lies that this will somehow curb crime make the these abuses of power all the more insidious.

As I’m sure you’re aware the UK has the most intrusive mass surveillance regime of any democratic country, and the security services are given a pass to spy on everyone whether or not we’re suspected of criminal activity. Police can request to spy on anyone without a warrant and gag the companies involved; preventing them from letting their victims know their personal and private data has been handed over.

This Act, the IPA, was deemed unlawful in parts by the European Court of Human Rights, in 2018. Read more about issues with this legislation here.

In 2023 they attempted to serve messaging apps with a technical capability notice, prompting them to write an open letter outlining the issues with the UK government’s attempts to erode online security. Ultimately saying they would have to leave the UK market if their product were outlawed.

The absurd request, rather than be rescinded altogether, was simply amended to acknowledge that it’s technically infeasible but that the government expects it to be feasible later and will review their request in the future.

And just last year the act was extended, with the promise (lie) that: “These changes mean that not only will our citizens be better protected from serious dangers such as terrorism and child sexual abuse online — their privacy will be better protected too.” (security minister Tom Tugendhat)

Not a full year later than this and the government has attempted to force Apple to create a global back door into its encryption methods. Forcing Apple to have to cease to offer encryption to any UK citizens. Obviously weakening our privacy.

The things we store with Apple services are entirely private and should remain so. They are not a social media or sharing platform. These are our journals, photos of our lives, loved ones and other intimate and private information that now cannot be stored in a totally private manner.

I think if the government had a policy that they could take and read anyone’s journals and private photo albums at anytime (and without even letting anyone know). People would be up in arms at this. But the government continues to manufacture a lie, that they are only concerned with protecting child safety, which they know is an emotional topic, and relying on technical ignorance to create support or at least prevent mass dissent at its policies and uses of this legislation.

It is honestly Orwellian. And I don’t believe UK citizens want to be living a real life recreation of the society in 1984. Perhaps there will be a new extension to the IPA next year requiring smart TVs to include cameras which the government can access at anytime, and phones to allow government access to microphones or transcripts. I seriously don’t think that is too far off at this point.