My comment was a joke connecting wiretapping (from the Investigatory Powers Act) with Apple's proprietary adapters. The parallel I was drawing: just as the UK suggests requiring licenses for encryption, Apple already charges $99/year to develop devices you own. A wire "tap" is an adapter (a tap) in the communication line. You can add one yourself at the end of the chain, but the UK also fights with Apple about their USB-C standardization, so it was also referencing the larger regulatory battle.

Clearly, you didn't understand enough to respond to the joke, and it's against HN guidelines to suggest I didn't read the article. However, this topic is derailed due to The Online Safety Act. As I said, the headline was well crafted.

The encryption dongle adaptor.