TL;DR: Popular encrypted messaging application Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blasted a new report claiming Apple canceled its plans for greater iCloud privacy and security after the United States’ largest law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), complained.

Pavel Durov Blasts iCloud for Caving to FBI

Durov’s Channel “is where I post thoughts about Telegram in a slightly less formal and more direct way than in the official Telegram blog,” the outspoken co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov explained in its description. His latest focus comes after a recently published report claiming Apple essentially caved-in to US law enforcement rather than protect users’ privacy and security.

“iCloud is now officially a surveillance tool,” Durov blasted to his 335,846 followers. “Apps that are relying on it to store your private messages (such as WhatsApp) are part of the problem.” Citing “six sources familiar with the matter,” Reuters claimed the FBI complained to Apple about “plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service” would ultimately undermine its investigative efforts.

The new report runs counter to Apple’s official public relations narrative of a rift between the tech giant and the world’s most important law enforcement agency. That appears to not be the case, as the two, according to Reuters, are working in cooperation. Telegram, of course, has as its entire business proposition privacy, security, and pushback against police encroachment around the globe, and often contrasts itself against the likes of rival WhatsApp.

For cryptocurrency enthusiasts, 2020 is shaping up to be a year of cat and mouse between government regulators and relative transaction anonymity. Greater privacy tools such as CashFusion built for the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) project are getting attention across coin tribes due to its promise, as are privacy-oriented wallets such as Crescent Cash. The race to get in front of legislation and enforcement was also recently highlighted by none other than the Queen of England and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The HMRC announced a £100,000 contract for anyone who could deliver tracking software for BTC, Ethereum, Monero, Zcash, and others.

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