Apple Assists UK Authorities in Investigation of Recent Terror Attacks

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company has been assisting UK authorities in their anti-terrorism efforts and cooperating with law enforcement.

“We have been cooperating with the U.K. government not only in law enforcement kind of matters but on some of the attacks,” Cook said to Bloomberg on Monday. “I cannot speak on detail on that. But in cases when we have information and they have gone through the lawful process we don’t just give it but we do it very promptly.”

Cook’s comments came in the wake of the third extremist attack in the UK this year. Pressure has mounted on technology giants like Apple and Facebook to help the United Kingdom tamp down on terrorism and prevent their products from being used by extremists.

“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” UK Prime Minister Theresa May declared following the most recent attack in London Bridge that left 7 dead and scores injured. “Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet based services provide.”

Last year, Apple was involved in a legal standoff with the FBI over its refusal to help the government agency decrypt an iPhone 5c used by the San Bernardino shooter. The move, while criticized by law enforcement agencies, was praised by privacy and cybersecurity advocates for protecting the personal data of consumers from snooping (by both criminals and government agencies).

While Apple won’t compromise on allowing law enforcement officials to sift through its customers’ conversations, Cook noted that Apple can still furnish other forms of information to assist them. He clarified the company’s position on the tricky balance between privacy and security, noting that although Apple supports robust encryption protocols on its iPhone and end-to-end encryption on the iMessage app, it can still provide metadata to authorities. Metadata is information regarding the circumstances of your text messages or phone conversation (i.e. when, where, and how you communicated) rather than its actual content. Under the UK’s controversial Investigatory Powers Act, the government can force companies to store metadata and make it accessible upon request.

“Metadata exists and that’s very important for building a profile,” he told Bloomberg. “The reality is that cyberattacks on people and governments, these affect your safety and security. So it’s not just privacy. It’s not privacy versus security, it’s privacy and security versus security.”

Facebook also responded to the recent London attack by activating its safety check to allow people to tell family and friends they were safe. It condemned the violence and declared that its platform will “be a hostile environment for terrorists.” Earlier this year, the internet company outlined a plan to combine human reviewers and artificial intelligence to identify and remove terrorist content and propaganda from its social network. “We do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism”, said Simon Miller, Facebook’s Director of Policy.

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