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The UK government has dropped its mandate requiring Apple to provide backdoor access to the iCloud data of Americans.
In January, the UK reportedly asked Apple to lift end-to-end encryption for iCloud and create a secret "back door" for it to view user data. While the order was made discreetly, Apple made it public in February by disabling the Advanced Data Protection feature for users in the country.
The company went a step further in April, filing a complaint to block the order in the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Even in the US, some lawmakers criticized the move, stating it would violate user privacy and open the door to cyberattacks.
After months of negotiations, the UK has finally backed down. "I've been working closely with our partners in the UK, alongside @POTUS and @VP, to ensure Americans' private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected," US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote on X. "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."
As Reuters notes, the statement comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump in Washington this week to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. The wording of her statement, however, leaves some ambiguity since it is unclear whether the UK plans to abandon the measure entirely or just steer clear of US citizens' data.
Additionally, a spokesperson for the UK government tells Reuters that it will "always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe." We reached out to Apple for further clarification.
The move was expected by two officials of the UK government. Speaking anonymously to the Financial Times last month, they said the Trump administration was pressuring the UK to back off the mandate or risk jeopardizing future tech agreements between the two nations.
We also asked Apple if it plans to reinstate Advanced Data Protection in the UK. Compared with standard data protection, which encrypts select iCloud data and stores encryption keys in Apple's data centers, the optional Advanced Data Protection encrypts iCloud backups, photos, notes, reminders, voice memos, etc., and stores encryption keys solely on the users' trusted devices.