GCHQ Ghost Protocol Faces Test as Signal Threatens to Leave UK Over Encryption Backdoor

Analysis
Apple's preemptive disabling of UK iCloud encryption has fractured the platform-resistance coalition, establishing compliance as less costly than market exit for at least one major firm and stripping the collective-action pressure backstopping Signal's position. Signal's withdrawal threat carries cost to reverse. Per a single analytical synthesis of corporate statements and Ofcom documentation, Signal will likely issue a public threat of withdrawal or service degradation within 60 days of any formal Ghost Protocol mandate. That deadline does not itself constitute a mandate; if Ofcom defers a formal order, the clock does not run. The exit threats may be calibrated primarily to generate parliamentary pressure to amend the Online Safety Act rather than reflect genuine intent to leave the UK market.