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Apple Will Store Russian User Data Locally, Possibly Decrypt on Request: Report (venturebeat.com)
After resisting local government's mandates for years, Apple appears to have agreed to store Russian citizens' data within the country, a report says. From a report: According to a Foreign Policy report, Russia's telecommunications and media agency Roskomnadzor has confirmed that Apple will comply with the local data storage law, which appears to have major implications for the company's privacy initiatives. Apple's obligations in Russia would at least parallel ones in China, which required it turn over Chinese citizens' iCloud data to a partially government-operated data center last year. In addition to processing and storing Russian citizens' data on servers physically within Russia, Apple will apparently need to decrypt and produce user data for the country's security services as requested.
So they're perfectly happy to protect your privacy as long as it doesn't affect their market share. Gotcha.
You can't blame Apple for this, that would be like saying that IBM shouldn't have helped the Germans in the 1930s. /s
Apple is obligated to obey the law in every country where they operate.
It is not the job of American corporations to "fix" Russia. That is up to the Russian people.
Apple will comply with the local data storage law, ... Apple will apparently need to decrypt and produce user data for the country's security services as requested.
So they'll stand up to OUR government in 2016 (Apple won't decrypt a phone for the FBI Info link) but they'll lower their standards for foreign governments?
No matter which way you fall on this issue -- SHOULD have or should NOT have -- this is wrong.
If Apple is "The Angel of Privacy everywhere" then they should stand up for no decryption. If they take the stance "the local government makes the choice and we'll follow", then they should have decrypted the phone.
"But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone." Link
So if other governments ask for it, it's OK? Expect weasel words soon: it's not OK, but they made us do it against our will. We couldn't sell there if we didn't do it. There's a chance it might be accessed, but think of all the good information they now have access to they didn't before.
I'm not a particular fan or enemy of Apple (they produce good products that don't meet my Bang for the Buck requirements) but you're actively doing things for our frenemies that you wouldn't do for our country?? And don't give me that "we're standing up for what's right" bit, you're certainly not standing up Over There.
"Oh, but politics isn't our job." Just TRY that one.
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
If we don't sell Zyklon B to the Nazis, some other chemical company will, or maybe something even worse! So it's actually the morally right thing to do.