The UK government is reportedly planning to back down on plans to force Apple to share user data.
Tulsi Gabbard, US director of national intelligence, confirmed the move in a post on X, revealing that Downing Street will withdraw plans which would see Apple required to provide a “back door” to access user data.
“Over the past few months, 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,” Gabbard wrote.
“As a result, 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 and encroached on our civil liberties.”
The decision to back down follows a months-long war of words between Apple and the UK government over the tech giant’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool, a feature that uses end-to-end encryption and allows users to protect personal data.
The feature even prevents Apple from accessing personal information.
In December last year, the government filed a format notice demanding that Apple grant authorities the right to access encrypted data. This was applicable to users globally, and not specifically in the UK.
The order sparked widespread criticism at the time from privacy experts and industry stakeholders. Legal experts warned that the move could harm industry perception of the UK, noting that the country would “no longer be seen as a safe destination for personal data”.
In response, Apple refused to comply and announced plans to remove access to ADP for UK users. The tech giant began legal proceedings to challenge the demand.
“As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” the company said in a statement at the time.
Apple u-turn “hugely significant” for UK government
The UK government is yet to confirm the decision to back down, however, the rumored decision has been welcomed by security experts.
Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise at Check Point Software, said the decision to withdraw the demand is “hugely significant”.
“Once you create a master key to encrypted data, it is not just governments that can use it,” she said. “Criminal groups and hostile states will try to exploit it too.”
Wilson added that breaking encryption “not only weakens privacy, but also weakens security for everyone.”
The Apple order was issued under the Investigatory Powers Act, which means orders issued to other companies are essentially shrouded in secrecy.
Wilson said there are still concerns that these powers “remain on the statute books”, meaning that future governments may attempt a similar move in the future.
“Even if this particular demand has been withdrawn, the Investigatory Powers Act still allows future governments to try again,” she said.
“That leaves citizens, campaigners, and businesses in a state of uncertainty about whether the tools that protect their data could be undermined at any point.”
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