Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Apple announces new policies to aid law enforcement worldwide

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

In 2016, Apple and the FBI went to court over the company’s unwillingness to hand over private data. Now the company is working to find a better way to handle law enforcement requests for data and information pertaining to criminal investigations. According to its website, the company is building an online portal that will make it easier for law enforcement to submit requests to Apple regarding such data.

Apple’s website says that, by the end of the year, it hopes to have created an” online portal for authenticated law enforcement officers globally to submit lawful requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from Apple.” However, a letter sent to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), seen by CNET, provides some more information on the company’s plans.

Recommended Videos

Many of Apple’s recently announced policies were made in response to recommendations from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which suggested that Apple make changes to the way it works with law enforcement on investigations and training.

This new training is outlined on the company’s website, where it discusses Apple’s plans for a revamped relationship with law enforcement, which includes providing better training in technology and data-gathering. The company is working to create an online training program which will make it easier for law enforcement worldwide to receive Apple’s support in digital forensics.

The company believes that this new training program will help it reach smaller law enforcement organizations around the globe. The idea is to use the internet to provide training that is comparable to the in-person training Apple already offers to larger law enforcement organizations. Overall, the company believes that this “will assist Apple in training a larger number of law enforcement agencies and officers globally, and ensure that our company’s information and guidance can be updated to reflect the rapidly changing data landscape.”

In regards to the company’s customers, Apple in its letter to Whitehouse says it remains committed to protecting user privacy. It doesn’t provide details regarding how these new initiatives will affect existing customers, but it does promise that these new plans are consistent with its goals of protecting its customers’ privacy and data.

Eric Brackett
Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Topics
Datamaxxing is the latest AI trend and for once, it could be healthy for your health goals
Feeding fitness data to AI can turn unexplained health metrics into useful conversations, but trusting it as a doctor is another matter
Woman exercises with her Apple Watch and Dexcom G7.

Datamaxxing sounds like the sort of wellness trend that would involve a spreadsheet, three supplements, and far too much free time. The basic idea is much more sensible. People are feeding data from their wearables into AI chatbots and asking them to explain what all those numbers actually mean. The Wall Street Journal recently documented several people building systems around exactly that idea.

There’s a genuine gap for AI to fill here. A 2026 Nature Communications study found that wearables are good at producing summaries, but much less useful when people want personalized answers about their own data. An AI agent built by the researchers reached 84% accuracy on objective numerical questions.

Read more
The FBI says hackers are targeting your most private photos, not just your passwords
Account takeovers are being used to steal intimate images and videos, sometimes through fake support messages and phishing
A digital depiction of a laptop being hacked by a hacker.

The FBI is warning that some cybercriminals are breaking into social media and personal accounts with a specific goal. They want intimate photos and videos they can post online, sell through criminal marketplaces, or use to keep exploiting the victim after the account is compromised.

In an August 10 alert, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said the attacks target both adults and minors. Criminals may use personal information exposed in earlier breaches to guess passwords or PINs. Others rely on phishing pages and fake support messages to trick people into surrendering account access.

Read more
Cornell researchers found a way to spot future hits before they become popular
Early downloads can now call a research paper's fame years before it happens.
man doing research

Ever wonder if a research paper is destined to be a big deal long before it actually becomes one? Researchers at Cornell University think they have figured out how to tell, and it comes down to something as simple as downloads.

The team published new datasets pulled from arXiv, the go-to repository for unreviewed research papers, and GitHub, the platform coders use to store and share their projects. The goal is to test "lead-lag forecasting," a method that uses early engagement, including views, downloads, and likes, to predict which papers or projects will matter years down the line.

Read more