Apple To Move iCloud Keys To China
Apple Inc. has officially confirmed the transfer of China users' iCloud keys to Chinese authorities. This means that Chinese authorities will have an easier time to access private data stored in the cloud.
This move by the multinational technology company was made for their compliance with the new Chinese laws. Before this, Chinese authorities had to undergo a process involving the US courts before retrieving data from iCloud users.
Many Apple users and human rights activists have been alarmed by this news, especially because a similar case happened with Yahoo Inc. years ago.
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In 2005, Yahoo Inc. announced that they handed over data to China. This data was used by Chinese authorities to imprison journalist Shi Tao for sending a message from Chinese authorities that was threatening to journalists.
"To be doing business in China, or anywhere else in the world, we have to comply with local law," said Jerry Yang, co-founder and senior executive of Yahoo Inc., told the Washington Post. "I do not like the outcome of what happens with these things, but we have to follow the law."
Yang's statement is similar to that of Apple today. According to Reuters, Apple said that they tried to advocate "against iCloud being subject to these laws," but were "ultimately unsuccessful." Apple told Reuters that without complying with the Chinese laws, Apple would risk discontinuing their services in the country.
Now, Apple has created a data center for their Chinese users, which would be in partnership with state-owned Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co. Ltd. Human Rights in China executive director Sharon Hom told CNBC that this move would put Apple in an environment that could be easily pressured by the Chinese Communist Party.
However, Apple clarified that they would be holding the encryption keys of the cloud. The difference would mainly be how the Chinese legal system would let the Chinese government access data without the security of data privacy laws.
