Overview

• A new Technical Capability Notice reported in early September directs Apple to enable access to encrypted iCloud backups of British citizens, according to the Financial Times.
• The move revives a January demand that initially sought global access and was later narrowed after U.S. objections that focused on protecting American users’ data.
• Apple previously disabled Advanced Data Protection in the UK and reiterated that it has never built a backdoor to its products or services and never will.
• The Home Office declined to confirm or deny any notice and said it would take all actions necessary to keep UK citizens safe.
• Privacy advocates, including Privacy International, warn that weakening end‑to‑end encryption for UK users would create vulnerabilities affecting users worldwide, and the revised order could reset pending IPT proceedings brought by Apple and rights groups.