UK Scraps Demand for Apple ‘Backdoor’ After Pressure From US

The UK has dropped efforts to force Apple Inc. to open a so-called backdoor to US users' data, removing a point of contention between the two sides as they seek to finalize a broader trade deal.

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Monday that British authorities had rescinded an order asking the company to circumvent encryption to help them pursue certain national security and criminal investigations. The move had drawn protests from senior US officials and prompted Apple to remove its most advanced encrypted security feature for cloud data in the UK. 

“The UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door' that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties,” Gabbard said on X, crediting backing from President Donald Trump and his No. 2, JD Vance. The post drew support from X's billionaire owner Elon Musk, a frequent critic of British efforts to police speech over internet platforms. 

The UK is seeking to smooth over a range of disputes with the Trump administration as it works to finalize tariff relief promised more than three months ago. Gabbard's post came hours after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House as part of a high-stakes effort by European leaders to shape a peace deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The British government had ordered the iPhone maker in January to disable its most advanced encryption for information stored in its cloud services, which may include communications like voice memos and device backups. Apple has resisted government pressure to weaken its encryption because it undermines user privacy and cybersecurity. 

Senior British officials initiated conversations with the US government earlier this year in an attempt to resolve the dispute. They emphasized that the UK would only request data to investigate serious crimes, such as terrorism and child sexual abuse, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg at the time. The rights of American citizens were safeguarded in the UK-US Data Access Agreement signed in 2019, the people said.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. The UK law that the British order was based on, the Investigatory Powers Act, also makes it illegal for companies to reveal when the government has made such an order.

End-to-end encryption scrambles messages as they travel between devices, making it difficult for third parties and the tech companies themselves to intercept information. While that protects messages from data breaches, it also obscures them from law enforcement. Tech companies argue that hackers could also take advantage of any backdoors put in place for police.

Apple has made privacy a central pillar of its iPhone marketing as it's sought to differentiate its products from rivals. It also justifies the commission it charges on purchases made via its App Store on the grounds that it ensures a secure and trusted environment for its users. 

Apple in February withdrew the feature at the heart of the issue — Advanced Data Protection for iCloud — which remains unavailable in the UK. It is unclear whether ADP will be restored with the latest development.

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