Apple and some other technology companies have changed their policies so that if law enforcement requests personal information on a consumer, that consumer will get a notification. This comes after months of Apple demanding the NSA to allow them to be transparent with their requests.
Prosecutors aren’t a fan of the idea, with some saying that this will undermine investigations and allow criminals time to destroy sensitive data before any legal action is taken.
This doesn’t cover all spying requests though: those approved by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court won’t result in notifications been sent out. Likewise, neither will subpoenas from the FBI carrying binding gag orders. Apple also claims that the new policies might not apply to all cases, like if a potential victim is in imminent danger. Apple stated that if a child’s safety is vulnerable, notifications probably wouldn’t be sent out. Apple feels that the exceptions should be decided by a judge, not a company lawyer or investigator.
