WhatsApp tells BBC it backs Apple in legal row with UK over user data
WhatsApp has told the BBC it is supporting Apple in its legal fight against the UK Home Office over user data privacy.
The messaging app's boss, Will Cathcart, said the case "could set a dangerous precedent" by "emboldening other nations" to seek to break encryption, which is how tech firms keep their users' data private.
Apple went to the courts after receiving a notice from the Home Office earlier this year demanding the right to access the data of its global customers if required in the interests of national security.
It and other critics of the government's position say the request compromises the privacy of millions of users.
The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.
It has previously declined to comment directly on the Apple case.
But it has told the BBC the government's "first priority" is "to keep people safe" and the UK has a "longstanding position of protecting our citizens from the very worst crimes, such as child sex abuse and terrorism, at the same time as protecting people's privacy."
WhatsApp has applied to submit evidence to the court which is hearing Apple's bid to have the Home Office request overturned.
Mr Cathcart said: "WhatsApp would challenge any law or government request that seeks to weaken the encryption of our services and will continue to stand up for people's right to a private conversation online."
This intervention from the Meta-owned platform represents a major escalation in what was an already extremely high-profile and awkward dispute between the UK and the US.
Apple's row with the UK government erupted in February, when it emerged ministers were seeking the right to be able to access information secured by its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system.
The argument intensified in the weeks that followed, with Apple first pulling ADP in the UK, and then taking legal action against the Home Office.
It also sparked outrage among US politicians, with some saying it was a "dangerous attack on US cybersecurity" and urging the US government to rethink its intelligence-sharing arrangements with the UK if the notice was not withdrawn.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US National Intelligence, described it as an "egregious violation" of US citizens' privacy.
Civil liberties groups also attacked the UK government, saying what it was demanding had privacy and security implications for people around the world.
Apple's ADP applies end-to-encryption (E2EE) to files such as photos and notes stored on the iCloud, meaning only the user has the "key" required to view them.
The same technology protects a number of messaging services, including WhatsApp.
That makes them very secure but poses a problem for law enforcement agencies.
They can ask to see data with lower levels of protection - if they have a court warrant - but tech firms currently have no way to provide access to E2EE files, because no such mechanism currently exists.
Tech companies have traditionally resisted creating such a mechanism not just because they say it would compromise users' privacy but because there would be no way of preventing it eventually being exploited by criminals.
In 2023, WhatsApp said it would rather be blocked as a service than weaken E2EE.
When Apple pulled ADP in the UK it said it did not want to create a "backdoor" that "bad actors" could take advantage of.
Further complicating the argument around the Home Office's request is that it is made under the Investigatory Powers Act, the provisions of which are often secret.
When the matter came to court, government lawyers argued that the case should not be made in public in any way for national security reasons.
However, in April, a judge agreed with a number of news organisations, including the BBC, and said certain details should be made public.
"It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place," his ruling stated.
At the time, the government declined to comment on the proceedings but said: "The UK has robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and privacy is only impacted on an exceptional basis, in relation to the most serious crimes and only when it is necessary and proportionate to do so."
What Apple pulling Advanced Data Protection means for you
Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row
Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Unemployment among young college graduates outpaces overall US joblessness rate
WASHINGTON (AP) — While completing a master's degree in data analysis, Palwasha Zahid moved from Dallas to a town near Silicon Valley. The location made it easy to visit the campuses of tech stalwarts such as Google, Apple, and Nvidia. Zahid, 25, completed her studies in December, but so far she hasn't found a job in the industry that surrounds her. 'It stings a little bit,' she said. 'I never imagined it would be this difficult just to get a foot in the door.' Young people graduating from college this spring and summer are facing one of the toughest job markets in more than a decade. The unemployment rate for degree holders ages 22 to 27 has reached its highest level in a dozen years, excluding the coronavirus pandemic. Joblessness among that group is now higher than the overall unemployment rate, and the gap is larger than it has been in more than three decades. The rise in unemployment has worried many economists as well as officials at the Federal Reserve because it could be an early sign of trouble for the economy. It suggests businesses are holding off on hiring new workers because of rampant uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration's tariff increases, which could slow growth. 'Young people are bearing the brunt of a lot of economic uncertainty,' Brad Hersbein, senior economist at the Upjohn Institute, a labor-focused think tank, said. 'The people that you often are most hesitant in hiring when economic conditions are uncertain are entry-level positions.' The growth of artificial intelligence may be playing an additional role by eating away at positions for beginners in white-collar professions such as information technology, finance, and law. Higher unemployment for younger graduates has also renewed concerns about the value of a college degree. More workers than ever have a four-year degree, which makes it less of a distinguishing factor in job applications. Murat Tasci, an economist at JPMorgan, calculates that 45% of workers have a four-year degree, up from 26% in 1992. While the difficulty of finding work has demoralized young people like Zahid, most economists argue that holding a college degree still offers clear lifetime benefits. Graduates earn higher pay and experience much less unemployment over their lifetimes. The overall U.S. unemployment rate is a still-low 4.2%, and the government's monthly jobs reports show the economy is generating modest job gains. But the additional jobs are concentrated in health care, government, and restaurants and hotels. Job gains in professions with more college grads, such as information technology, legal services, and accounting have languished in the past 12 months. The unemployment rate has stayed low mostly because layoffs are still relatively rare. The actual hiring rate — new hires as a percentage of all jobs — has fallen to 2014 levels, when the unemployment rate was much higher, at 6.2%. Economists call it a no-hire, no-fire economy. For college graduates 22 to 27 years old, the unemployment rate was 5.8% in March — the highest, excluding the pandemic, since 2012, and far above the nationwide rate. Lexie Lindo, 23, saw how reluctant companies were to hire while applying for more than 100 jobs last summer and fall after graduating from Clark Atlanta University with a business degree and 3.8 GPA. She had several summer internships in fields such as logistics and real estate while getting her degree, but no offer came. 'Nobody was taking interviews or responding back to any applications that I filled out,' Lindo, who is from Auburn, Georgia, said. "My resume is full, there's no gaps or anything. Every summer I'm doing something. It's just, 'OK, so what else are you looking for?'' She has returned to Clark for a master's program in supply chain studies and has an internship this summer at a Fortune 500 company in Austin, Texas. She's hopeful it will lead to a job next year. Artificial intelligence could be a culprit, particularly in IT. Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, has calculated that employment for college graduates 28 and above in computer science and mathematical occupations has increased a slight 0.8% since 2022. For those ages 22 to 27, it has fallen 8%, according to Martin. Company announcements have further fueled concerns. Tobi Lutke, CEO of online commerce software company Shopify, said in an April memo that before requesting new hires, 'teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI.' Last week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AI would likely reduce the company's corporate workforce over the next few years. 'We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,' Jassy said in a message to employees. 'We expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.' Zahid worries that AI is hurting her chances. She remembers seeing big billboard ads for AI at the San Francisco airport that asked, 'Why hire a human when you could use AI?' Still, many economists argue that blaming AI is premature. Most companies are in the early stages of adopting the technology. Professional networking platform LinkedIn categorized occupations based on their exposure to AI and did not see big hiring differences between professions where AI was more prevalent and where it wasn't, said Kory Kantenga, the firm's head of economics for the Americas. 'We don't see any broad-based evidence that AI is having a disproportionate impact in the labor market or even a disproportionate impact on younger workers versus older workers,' Kantenga said. He added that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes have also slowed hiring in tech. Many IT firms expanded when the Fed pinned its short-term rate at nearly zero after the pandemic. In 2022, the Fed began cranking up rates to combat inflation, which made it harder to borrow and grow. In fact, IT's hiring spree when rates were low — fueled by millions of Americans ramping up their online shopping and video conferencing — left many firms with too many workers, economists say. Cory Stahle, an economist at the job-listings website Indeed, says postings for software development jobs, for example, have fallen 40% compared with four years ago. It's a sharp shift for students who began studying computer science when hiring was near its peak. Zahid, who lives in Dublin, California, has experienced this whiplash firsthand. When she entered college in 2019, her father, who is a network engineer, encouraged her to study IT and said it would be easy for her to get a job in the field. She initially studied psychology but decided she wanted something more hands-on and gravitated to data analysis. Her husband, 33, has a software development job, and friends of hers in IT received immediate job offers upon graduation a few years ago. Such rapid hiring seems to have disappeared now, she said. She has her college diploma, but hasn't hung it up yet. 'I will put it up when I actually get a job, confirming that it was worth it all,' she said. ___ AP Writer Matt Sedensky in New York contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why Are Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia Outperforming the "Magnificent Seven" and the S&P 500?
Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia are turning AI investments into concrete results. Artificial intelligence has helped these companies grow their profit margins. All three stocks sport reasonable valuations despite being around all-time highs. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) are knocking on the door of all-time highs, whereas the other four "Magnificent Seven" stocks -- Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, and Apple -- are down year to date. What gives? Here's why artificial intelligence (AI) monetization is a key differentiating factor that separates Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia from the rest of the pack -- and why all three growth stocks could still have further room to run. Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia benefit from AI in a variety of ways. These benefits could be the primary reason for the strong performance of all three stocks relative to the S&P 500 year to date. Meta uses AI to improve its algorithm, keeping users engaged and connecting advertisers with potential buyers. The longer users stay on Meta's Family of Apps (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads), the more attractive those platforms become for advertisers. Meta is expanding its AI investments by pouring capital expenditures into other AI endeavors, like the Meta AI App. Launched on April 29, the app is built with the latest version of Meta's large language model, Llama 4. The app offers a personalized AI experience designed around voice conversation. Microsoft has integrated AI across its Microsoft 365 suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.) through an AI feature called Copilot, GitHub Copilot for developers, Azure AI services for cloud computing, and more. AI presents arguably the most impactful product upgrade in years for Microsoft's legacy software suite and Intelligent Cloud platform. Nvidia makes graphics processing units (GPUs), which are the workhorses that power data centers. More computing power will be needed to support growing AI adoption and the increasing complexity of AI models. Nvidia is the undisputed leader in providing a full stack of AI computing solutions that includes hardware (GPUs), software, and other cloud-based solutions. Meanwhile, Nvidia AI software tools like CUDA and TensorRT help developers use Nvidia GPUs for everything from general-purpose computing tasks to training deep learning models. The market hates uncertainty, but it also loves companies with a clear vision for growing revenue and converting capital expenditures into free cash flow. Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia all have multiple ways to grow earnings. Meta has steadily increased its advertising revenue and profitability over time, largely thanks to Instagram's innovations in short-form videos through Reels. Regardless of the success of the Meta AI app or Meta's other projects in augmented and virtual reality (like Meta Quest), the company could still generate solid growth from its Family of Apps alone. Microsoft is in a similar boat. It benefits from AI, but it isn't a pure-play AI company. Microsoft generates a ton of cash that it can funnel directly into long-term growth projects, while still having plenty of dry powder to manage its operating expenses and return cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Nvidia has transformed its business from relying largely on gaming, professional visualization, cryptocurrency, and other end markets to being a majority of data center-focused business. This concentration makes Nvidia more of a pure-play AI name than Meta and Microsoft, which comes with higher risk and higher potential reward. What's more, Nvidia's sky-high operating margins have helped the company convert a substantial amount of revenue into profit. But competition or a slowdown in AI spending may lead to margin erosion over time. Even if that happens, the company could still grow earnings at a steady rate -- just not at the pace investors have grown accustomed to in recent years. Despite outperforming the S&P 500 and their Magnificent Seven peers so far this year, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia all sport surprisingly reasonable valuations. Except for Tesla on the high end and Alphabet on the low end, most of the Magnificent Seven have forward price-to-earnings ratios in the mid-20s to the mid-30s. This is far from value territory, but it is also not expensive, given how far these stocks have climbed in recent years. As mentioned, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia's high margins are a big reason to be optimistic about their future earnings growth. And, to no surprise, these three companies have the highest profit margins of the Magnificent Seven. Nvidia's 51.7% profit margin means that it converts over half of every dollar in sales into pure net income. That level of profitability is almost unheard of, especially for a majority hardware company. It also provides a cushion by which Nvidia's margins could come down and it would still be a phenomenal business. Granted, it's important to note that profit margin is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Amazon's profit margin looks low because of its high-volume but low-margin e-commerce business. Amazon Web Services makes up a fraction of Amazon's total sales, but it contributes the majority of its operating income because it is such a high-margin segment. Similarly, Tesla's primary business is manufacturing cars -- a traditionally low-margin business. Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia stand out as long-term winners due to their established and industry-leading high-margin business models, upside potential from AI, and reasonable valuations. However, these stocks are not cheap. A growth slowdown could make any of these stocks appear more expensive in the near term. So it's best to only approach these names if you have at least a three- to five-year investment time horizon. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $409,114!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,173!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $713,547!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Are Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia Outperforming the "Magnificent Seven" and the S&P 500? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Apple iPhone 17 Series: The Best Views Yet Of All TheNew Designs Just Leaked
Updated June 28 with further images claiming to show the design of the iPhone 17 series. Although it's around 12 weeks until the next iPhones go on sale (read exactly when they will launch here), there have been numerous reports and leaks. The latest comes from a regular leaker, and aims to show exactly what the iPhone 17 Pro will look like in black. The same leaker has now posted more images, showing what the iPhone 17 Air and other models in the range will look like: more on that and images of the whole iPhone 17 series in the form of dummies below. Apple iPhone 16: are the new leaked dummy images of the iPhone 17 series accurate? Getty Images Of course, it's not yet known exactly what colors the next iPhones will come in, or what they'll be called, but it's highly likely that there will be a new black color this time around (which will be similar, perhaps, to the current titanium black found on the iPhone 16 Pro. Forbes Apple iPhone 17 Series Will Showcase 'Design Revamp,' New Report Claims By David Phelan The leak comes from serial tipster Majin Bu who has a strong, though not perfect, track record. Their latest post on X reads, 'iPhone 17 Pro Black, absolutely beautiful,' and the caption shows two images of what it will look like, it's claimed. It's a persuasive replica, with lots of detail and convincing materials. But the reason it's interesting is that it shows the new camera panel design in a way that many will find attractive. Previously, I've been skeptical about how the predicted wider camera panel will work in practice. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that the panel would not be black on all models, that it would match the color of the iPhone. So, it's not yet clear what models in other colors will look like, but the images here show a panel which seems in keeping with the handset, and even makes the three camera lenses look less dominant than they do on the iPhone 16 Pro. In the dummy, the panel looks as though it rises out of the phone more deeply than before, perhaps to create a greater distance between the lens and the sensor beneath. The lenses are still raised on top of the panel. This is the iPhone 17 Pro, and it's the Pro Max model which is rumored to be the thickest iPhone Pro yet, so this looks, well, not super-thin, but not chunky. Of course, however carefully researched a phone dummy is, it can only take us part way to understanding what the real thing will look like. But these images make the iPhone 17 Pro look better than some had been expecting. The same could be said for the iPhone 17 Air, which Majin Bu has also featured, in a post on X captioned, 'iPhone 17 Air looks fantastic,' and showing two images of dummies claiming to show what the slim iPhone, nicknamed the Air, will look like. If you've already seen images said to be the iPhone 17 Air, you'll know that it has quite a different look on the rear of the phone (let alone its profile). There's only one camera expected on the iPhone 17 Air, and it seems it will sit on the left side of the phone's back, as Apple's cameras always have. But the raised camera panel which is one of the biggest design changes in the iPhone 17 series stretches across the width of the phone. It's a controversial look that is most noticeable on the one-camera slim phone. That said, it looks more persuasive in this dummy than has previously been seen. And then there's the profile: turn the phone sideways and this dummy shows how strikingly thin it is. Majin Bu has also posted more images, including a group shot of the entire iPhone 17 series, showing them in a pale color, silver, perhaps. Seeing them together shows a distinct and consistent design language which, did we but know it at the time, began with the iPhone 16 in September 2025. All models apart from iPhone 17 base model have a camera panel that stretches the width of the phone. It again makes one ask why the panel is that wide on the slim model with its single camera. My only guess is to separate it in design from the iPhone 17 and iPhone 16e, which will still be on sale. Plus, it seems it's going to be a pricier model than the iPhone 17, so the slim iPhone needs something else to set it apart. Plus, of course, with a phone that thin, you may need to use some of the camera bump to squirrel away components for which there's otherwise no space. By the way, if you look at the dummies, you know that's what you're looking at: the leaf at the top of the Apple logo is missing on the supposed iPhone 17 Air. I think it's pretty clear that that's not a design change we should be expecting. Forbes Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Automatic Deletions: Take Action Now To Protect Yourself By David Phelan
