Apple, Google push for judicial oversight in Canada online safety bill

By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 (Reuters) – Apple and Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday pushed to amend an online safety bill working its way through Canada’s parliament to add judicial oversight to what the ​firms described as a potential for secret orders to break the encryption ‌of their software and devices.

Bill C-22 was proposed by Canada’s ruling Liberal Party and is being debated in the House of Commons.

The bill is similar to measures enacted in Britain and Australia that aim to give law enforcement officials access to encrypted data. Canadian ‌authorities ​have said the bill would help them investigate ⁠security threats earlier and act ⁠more quickly.

When data is encrypted “end to end” it means that no one – including law enforcement and tech firms – can access the data without the key.

The Canadian bill does not explicitly require technology companies to break the ​encryption of their devices, but Apple, Google and Meta Platforms have all come out in opposition. The tech firms argue it sets up a ⁠regulatory landscape where they could be issued ⁠secret orders to build a backdoor into their services or ​devices without disclosing that backdoor to users or the public.

In testimony before the ​House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security ‌on Tuesday, representatives from Apple and Google both pushed to add explicit protections for encryption and judicial oversight to the bill.

“Secret orders are out of step with other democratic countries and would severely restrict companies’ ability to be ⁠transparent with users about how their data is protected,” said Jeanette Patell, director for government affairs and public policy in Canada for Google.

Apple last year received a ⁠secret order to break ‌encryption in the UK, which prompted it to withdraw ⁠encrypted cloud backup features from the country.

Frank Caputo, a ​Conservative member ‌from British Columbia, on Tuesday asked Erik Neuenschwander, senior director ​for user ⁠privacy and child safety at Apple, whether Apple would leave Canada if required to build a backdoor into its devices.

“I can’t speculate what would happen in that situation,” Neuenschwander said. “Through this engagement and the continued dialogue, we hope to have positive amendments made to the bill.”

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; ​Editing by Jamie Freed)