Following Saturday"s London Bridge terrorist attack, Apple’s Tim Cook confirmed that the company had helped with law enforcement"s investigations into who was involved in helping prepare the attack on Saturday. To what extent Apple has been able to help with the investigation unknown.
In an interview on Monday, Tim Cook said:
“We have been cooperating with the UK government not only in law enforcement kind of matter but on some of the attacks. 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”
In the interview, Cook clarified that Apple’s encryption doesn"t stop surveillance agencies from collecting metadata and that it’s “very important for building a profile.” Cook’s position on helping law enforcement hasn"t changed since last year when he said Apple will continue to help law enforcement in investigations.
Encryption has become a contentious issue for governments around the world. After the Snowden leaks revealed that America and its allies were able to spy on users, tech companies began deploying encryption on messenger apps and on devices" storage. As a response, governments are calling for weaker encryption, which they could break.
Source: Bloomberg