Britain relents on call for Apple to create encryption access point after American influence
In a significant turn of events, the UK has reportedly dropped its demand for Apple to provide a backdoor to its encrypted data stored in the iCloud service. This decision was announced by the US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, on August 19.
The UK's demand, which emerged in February 2025, was the result of discussions between the US and UK governments. The initiative, which rejected the UK's call for Apple to build a backdoor for end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) data in iCloud, was founded on September 3, 2020.
Nic Adams, co-founder and CEO of 0rcus, believes the reversal was less about Apple's legal stance and more about pressure from Washington. US officials were concerned that forcing a backdoor in the UK would create a global precedent, making it harder to argue against similar demands from other countries like China and Russia.
The demand had the potential to result in a data breach on a scale the world has never experienced before, according to Nathan Webb, principal consultant at Acumen Cyber. Any mandated access point could instantly become a new vulnerability, as it could be cloned, stolen, or leaked, and would undermine every user worldwide, argued Adams.
Apple temporarily removed iCloud's optional E2EE, called Advanced Data Protection (ADP), for UK accounts to meet the UK's legal demand. However, the UK's legal order, a technical capability notice (TCN), wouldn't grant authorities secret backdoor access to iCloud data but would have compelled Apple to preserve the existing ability to comply with court-approved warrants demanding user content.
This decision is a victory for data privacy advocates worldwide. By this decision, the US government ensured "Americans' private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected," stated Tulsi Gabbard.
The UK's decision comes after the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) made the "bare details of the case" between Apple and the UK government public in April. The IPT issued a judgment making the details public, which sparked a public debate on data privacy and security.
This development marks a significant step in the ongoing debate about the balance between national security and individual privacy in the digital age. As technology continues to evolve, so too will the challenges and the need for thoughtful and considered solutions.
