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Apple Will Store Russian User Data Locally, Possibly Decrypt on Request: Report (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

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.

9 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. iTurd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So they're perfectly happy to protect your privacy as long as it doesn't affect their market share. Gotcha.

    1. Re: iTurd by registrations_suck · · Score: 2

      Right, because guess what? No other company operating legally in Russia can ignore its laws either.

    2. Re:iTurd by Rhipf · · Score: 2

      To be fair it is a bit about market share. Apple could have avoided storing the data in Russia if they stopped serving Russians. This would of course affect their market share so the OP was sort of correct that "they're perfectly happy to protect your privacy as long as it doesn't affect their market share".

      Of course if they pulled out of the Russian market there wouldn't be any private data for them to protect.

  2. Re:Ha! In Russia, state stores user in crypt. by Aighearach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can't blame Apple for this, that would be like saying that IBM shouldn't have helped the Germans in the 1930s. /s

  3. Re:That's funny! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  4. Really? by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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?
    1. Re:Really? by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      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.

      Uh, there are two different encryptions you know? There's one on the phone itself, and Apple has said no to that.

      Then there's encryption on cloud data, and Apple has always provided that information with a warrant.

      Even the FBI got a copy of that guy's iCloud data when they asked Apple.

      The "decryption" part is stuff like messages and such, which are stored encrypted in iCloud, but are decryptable by Apple (so you can sign in on another phone and get the history).

      Apple still can't decrypt phones and won't decrypt or unlock a phone. But they will hand over your iCloud data if there's any to be handed over (since it's not mandatory to use), even though that data is stored encrypted.

      And China has the same deal - Apple will hand over iCloud data, decrypted if need be. But the phone's encryption is still stored on the phone, and no encryption keys to that are stored by Apple.

      The FBI wanted Apple to write special software to help them break into the phone, something Apple still refuses to do. Even more importantly, the FBI could've broken into the phone using TouchID but simply refused to, relying instead on politics to help make their case. And Apple was calling the FBI if they needed assistance on that.

  5. Re:That's funny! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

  6. Re:That's funny! by LostMyAccount · · Score: 2

    Can't you make an argument that by depriving repressive country consumers desirable products because of their governments policies that it will actually motivate their citizens to demand change?

    A lot of the policies of both Russia and China seem to be driven around the idea that if the can buy off their citizens with access to high-quality and usually Western consumer goods, they won't complain about political repression.

    Obviously this isn't the "job" of Apple or any other specific corporation, but ironically it seems to be the exact strategy used when economic sanctions are applied to a country. The goal with Iran seems to be to make life hard for their consumers who will then demand their government change. I can't say it's been a wholly successful policy, although there are arguments that the nuclear deal wouldn't have happened without it and its leaders are genuinely concerned with a populace increasingly believing that its pursuit of unpopular policies is directly connected to their suffering.