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4w ago

UK Drops Apple Backdoor Demand, U.S. Intelligence Chief Says

The announcement from Washington follows months of pressure over a secret UK order under the Investigatory Powers Act targeting Apple’s iCloud encryption.

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Many tech firms pride themselves on refusing to provide government agencies with access to users' data
A man walks past an advertisement for an Apple iPhone at an Apple Inc. store in central London, on January 27, 2025.

Overview

  • Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on X that the UK agreed to withdraw its mandate, crediting work by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
  • The UK Home Office declined to confirm or deny the existence of any notice and pointed to longstanding U.S.–UK safeguards that bar targeting each other’s citizens’ data.
  • Apple had disabled its optional Advanced Data Protection end-to-end encryption for iCloud in the UK in February after receiving a Technical Capability Notice reportedly issued in January.
  • Apple’s legal challenge to the order at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal remains pending with hearings slated for early 2026, and the company has not said if it will restore ADP to UK users.
  • U.S. lawmakers and security experts warned the UK demand could have breached the CLOUD Act and created systemic vulnerabilities, while civil liberties groups welcomed the reported retreat.