Apple may discontinue sales of its products in UK if surveillance bill is passed

Internet companies in UK will have to store customer usage data for up to a year according to a new bill the British government will present to parliament on Wednesday, local newspapers reported.

Britain's Investigatory Powers Bill, a renewed attempt to give security agencies powers to track online communications, will also tackle criticism from privacy campaigners by including assurances that any access of so-called Internet connection records would need judicial authorisation, the Guardian said.

Now, in the circumstances that the surveillance bill is passed by the UK government, the legislation will prevent anyone from using strong encryptions. Which essentially means that, any encryption that cannot be broken by the government will be banned.

However, as suggested in a report by Forbes, Apple, which is known for its secure encryptions, will find itself in an uneasy position if such a bill is passed in the UK. Apple claims that it does not even have access to its customers’ data itself, may not be left with many other options that withdrawing sales of its products in the country.

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(With inputs from Reuters)