Tim Cook slams UK spy bill that could require breakable encryption

Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Monday voiced staunch opposition to the UK's proposed Investigatory Powers Bill, a measure that would force companies to retain customer data and may require them to install backdoors in any encrypted systems.

"To protect people who use any products, you have to encrypt," Cook told the Telegraph. "You can just look around and see all the data breaches that are going on...we believe very strongly in end to end encryption and no back doors."

Cook warned that requiring companies to add backdoors could have "dire consequences," saying that "any backdoor is a backdoor for everyone."

"It's not the case that encryption is a rare thing that only two or three rich companies own and you can regulate them in some way. Encryption is widely available. It may make someone feel good for a moment but it's not really of benefit. If you halt or weaken encryption, the people that you hurt are not the folks that want to do bad things. It's the good people. The other people know where to go."

Thanks to globalization, Cook argued, weakening security in one area can have adverse affects on everyone. "We are all connected, whether we like it or not," he said.