THE UK Government has dropped its demand for Apple to access users’ data amid a privacy and encryption row, according to the US director of national intelligence.
Tulsi Gabbard posted on Twitter/X that the UK has agreed to end the request for the US tech giant to allow law enforcement officials “backdoor” access to US customer data after working alongside US president Donald Trump, vice-president JD Vance and British counterparts “over the past few months”.
Gabbard's announcement comes after a lengthy dispute embroiling the iPhone manufacturer and the UK and US governments.
Trump had weighed into the row between the UK and Apple to accuse Britain of behaving like China, telling Keir Starmer: “You can’t do this”.
Vance also complained, saying: “I don’t want American citizens to be spied on.”
He said it was “crazy” that “we’re creating a backdoor in our own technology networks that our enemies are now using”.
Gabbard posted: “As a result, the UK 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.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that the UK Government had issued a notice under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, asking Apple for the ability to access data from its users.
This was said to include encrypted data protected by the tech giant’s advanced data protection (ADP) tool, an opt-in tool within Apple’s iCloud service which only an account holder can access, and is currently out of the reach of even Apple.
The iPhone-maker subsequently said it was withdrawing the tool from the UK and brought legal action against the Home Office.
The UK Government’s approach was widely criticised by online privacy campaigners and experts when reports of the request first appeared.
However, some online safety charities, as well as police and security services around the world, have long warned of the dangers of end-to-end encrypted services, arguing that they allow offenders such as terrorists and child abusers to hide more easily.
On Tuesday, a UK Government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of such notices.
“We have long had joint security and intelligence arrangements with the US to tackle the most serious threats such as terrorism and child sexual abuse, including the role played by fast-moving technology in enabling those threats.”
They added the agreements have “long contained” safeguards to protect privacy and sovereignty, including for UK and US citizens.
