Did you know that six years ago, the UK government proposed that end-to-end encryption systems be disabled on messaging apps for national security reasons. This was opposed by many people including WhatsApp and Signal. Even Apple may ditch its iMessage and FaceTime services if the UK government insists encryption features that guarantee data security and user privacy are turned off.
Most recently, Just Security reported that the UK government is now requiring device manufacturers to notify the government before distributing security updates. This is to ensure the ability to spy on users in the UK is still possible before any security vulnerabilities are patched. This also means that device manufacturers can no longer continue to distribute security updates as they do now.
Not only that, by waiting for government approval first, the vulnerability will further expose users to undue risk. Meaning the device can be infected with viruses, malicious applications can be installed or hackers can start their malicious activities.
Does this mean that after this security patch updates on iOS or Android will be blocked in the UK? Will the UK only receive Android updates that come with the latest security patches directly?