Apple and Meta have opposed a Canadian bill that the companies say could force them to create backdoor access to encrypted user data, should it pass through the country's parliament.
Proposed by Canada's ruling Liberal Party, Bill C-22 contains provisions that could be similar to a UK data access provision order sent to Apple last year, depending on how they are implemented.
Back in February 2025, the British government demanded that Apple give it blanket access to all encrypted user content uploaded to the cloud. Apple refused, and instead pulled its Advanced Data Protection iCloud feature from the United Kingdom.
U.S. officials later said Britain had dropped the request after the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, raised concerns that it could violate a cloud data treaty and tap into US citizens' data.
Apple now finds itself in a similar standoff across the Atlantic. Canadian law enforcement officials say Bill C-22 would help them investigate security threats earlier and act more quickly. But Apple has pushed back against the proposed legislation. The company provided Reuters with the following statement:
"At a time of rising and pervasive threats from malicious actors seeking access to user information, Bill C-22, as drafted, would undermine our ability to offer the powerful privacy and security features users expect from Apple. This legislation could allow the Canadian government to force companies to break encryption by inserting backdoors into their products – something Apple will never do."
Meta also argued that the bill contained "sweeping powers, minimal oversight, and lack of clear safeguards" that could end up making Canadians less safe, rather than more.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has consistently insisted that providing back-door access past its encryption for authorities would open the door for "bad guys" to gain access to its users' data. Cyber security experts agree that it would only be a matter of time before bad actors discover such a point of entry. Apple's stance was enhanced in 2016 when it successfully fought a US order to unlock the iPhone of a shooter in San Bernardino, California.
The Canadian bill is currently being debated in the House of Commons.
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