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Why do the British still think they have power to do dumb stuff like this? Their economy is floundering, their consumer market is small, and their government is

Why do the British still think they have power to do dumb stuff like this? Their economy is floundering, their consumer market is small, and their government is a joke.

fredley 3y ago
In a word, populists. This is part of a stance of being 'tough on crime'. Whether or not the bill succeeds or fails isn't really important, what's important is that they can trumpet how tough on crime they are. If it fails it's not their fault, it's the opposition and how they care more about criminals' rights than your/childrens' safety etc. etc. As to why the public themselves go for it, the media landscape in the UK is in a pretty bad way at the moment. An enormous amount of power is still wielded by the traditional press - specifically the power to set the national conversation.
PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
70M is small, but not that small. Larger than any US state, larger than most countries in the EU. It's also anglophone, which to anglophone companies (Apple still is, to a significant degree), means that its 70M are worth a bit more than the absolute number suggests.
IshKebab 3y ago
The UK is still the 6th biggest market in the world. Enough potential profit that most companies will be happy to follow slightly ridiculous laws. The only reason Apple are saying this is because it's good PR and nobody in the UK uses iMessage anyway, so they won't lose any money. Wake me up when WhatsApp say the same...
- CameronNemo 3y ago
  Does this not count? https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/09/whatsapp-end-to-end-encryption-online-safety-bill https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/09/whatsapp-...