UK shelves plan to access US user data from Apple

LONDON: Britain abandoned its demand that Apple provide so-called backdoor access to any encrypted user data stored in the cloud, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Monday.

Gabbard indicated London and Washington had resolved their high-stakes dispute over electronic privacy, writing on X that she and President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance spent the "past few months" working with the UK government.

"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," she said.


The dispute surfaced at the start of the year with a news report that British security officials had issued the US tech giant with a secret order requiring the creation of backdoor access to view fully encrypted material.

Apple challenged the order, which raised fears of electronic spying by national security officials.

The British government reportedly served Apple with what is known as a "technical capability notice" ordering it to provide the access under a sweeping law called the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which has been dubbed the snoopers' charter.

The U.K. Home Office did not respond directly to Gabbard's statement, saying it "does 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," the office said. "We will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe."