There’s this phrase I keep seeing in discussions about digital privacy: “tactical redeployment.” Someone used it recently in a thread about Denmark’s decision to back away from the so-called “chat control” proposal, and honestly, it’s the perfect description of what’s been happening across Europe for the past few years.

The Danish Presidency has stepped back from pushing mandatory scanning of encrypted messages—at least for now. On the surface, that sounds like a win for privacy advocates. But here’s the thing that keeps me up at night: they didn’t let it go to a vote and fail. They just… backed away. Which means they can absolutely try again later when the public isn’t watching quite so closely.

The tech world is buzzing with Apple’s recent decision to pull Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the UK, following pressure from the British government. This move has sparked intense discussions about privacy, government overreach, and the future of digital security.

Let’s be clear about what’s happening here. Apple didn’t implement a backdoor - they simply removed the enhanced encryption feature for UK users. While this isn’t ideal, it’s arguably better than compromising the entire encryption system with a government-mandated backdoor. At least now, UK users know exactly where they stand regarding their data security.