Last week Patently Apple posted a report titled "Australia proposed new Laws Compelling Companies like Facebook & Apple to Provide Access to Encrypted Messages." Days later, Australia's Prime Minister spoke about the encryption problem with the Australian press as noted in the video in our report. Now we're learning that Apple has flown in top executives to lobby Turnbull government on encryption laws. It sounds like a showdown is on the horizon.  

This is the second time this month that Apple has flown executives into Australia to lobby the government according to a Sydney publication. Apple executives met with Attorney-General George Brandis and senior staff in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's office on Tuesday to discuss the company's concerns about the legal changes, which could see tech companies compelled to provide access to locked phones and third party messaging applications.

Apple has argued in the meetings that as a starting point it does not want the updated laws to block tech companies from using encryption on their devices, nor for companies to have to provide decryption keys to allow access to secure communications.

The company has argued that if it is compelled to provide a software "back door" into its phones to help law enforcement agencies catch criminals and terrorists, this would reduce the security for all users. It also says it has provided significant assistance to police agencies engaged in investigations, when asked.

Australia's proposed laws will be modeled on those introduced in Britain about a year ago and the government says it will update and enhance the obligations on tech companies that make phones and secure messaging applications such as WhatsApp to provide assistance to police and spy agencies when requested, subject to a warrant.

Last week, Senator Brandis said the government would work with companies such as Apple to facilitate greater access to secure communications but warned that "we'll also ensure that the appropriate legal powers, if need be, as a last resort, coercive powers of the kind that recently were introduced into the United Kingdom under the Investigatory Powers Act...are available to Australian intelligence and law enforcement authorities as well".

Mr Turnbull has said tech companies such as Apple and Facebook "have to face up to their responsibility. They can't just wash their hands of it and say: 'It's got nothing to do with us'."

At the G20 he played a key role in drafting a section of the leaders' final statement on encryption that emphasised the law had to apply online, just as it did elsewhere.

The paragraph promised, in part, that "in line with the expectations of our peoples, we also encourage collaboration with industry to provide lawful and non-arbitrary access to available information where access is necessary for the protection of national security against terrorist threats."

There's a new video out this morning on this very topic with speakers Mike Phelan AFP Commissioner, the Australian Prime Minister and Senator Brandis. Phelan revealed that 55-60% of communication is now encrypted up from a few years ago when it sat at just 3%. It's at a point that is putting civilians and investigations at risk which can't be tolerated by law enforcement.

If governments think that tech companies are just going to throw down their swords and comply, they're dreaming. Governments will have to pass the law and then make dramatic moves against tech leaders such as Apple in order to set the tone for the new law. Polite pow-wows won't cut it.

Now that we've heard the view points from Australian authorities, expect Apple's CEO Tim Cook to fire back strongly and perhaps even make a political statement on the issue during one of Apple's product keynotes scheduled for September and later this fall. So stay tuned because this battle has a long road ahead.

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