UK has ‘agreed to drop’ demand for access to Apple user data, says US

Un-paywalled link: https://archive.ph/fHhqz

> The UK has retreated on its controversial demand for Apple to provide a “back door” to encrypted customer data after pressure from the Trump administration, according to US officials, ending a diplomatic row between London and Washington.

> Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, told the Financial Times the UK had “agreed to drop” its demand that Apple enable access to “the protected encrypted data of American citizens”, a move that the US president had previously likened to Chinese surveillance.

> Vice-president JD Vance, who was recently on holiday in the UK, intervened to ensure Britain agreed to withdraw an order that sought to force Apple to break open encrypted data stored in its iCloud system that even the iPhone maker itself is normally unable to access, according to a US official.

> “The vice-president negotiated a mutually beneficial understanding that the UK government will withdraw the current back-door order to Apple,” the official said.

> Vance has previously accused European countries of curtailing free speech and of treating some American companies unfairly. He and Gabbard strongly objected to the UK order, which was issued in January under the UK Investigatory Powers Act, and which has so far been resisted by Apple.

> While the UK has agreed to rescind the order, it has yet to be formally withdrawn, a person familiar with the matter said.

> Three British officials said the clash with the Trump administration was now resolved, after government representatives met senior US figures including Vance in recent weeks.

> One said the issue was “settled”, while another described the UK as having “caved” to US pressure. Another UK government official said “we can’t and we won’t” make Apple break its encryption.

> “Over the past few months, I’ve been working closely with our partners in the UK, alongside President Trump and vice-president Vance, to ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected,” Gabbard said.

> She added in the statement to the FT: “I’m happy to share that 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.”

> It was not immediately clear whether Britain would issue a new notice to Apple with different terms to try to avoid implicating US citizens’ data.

> A person close to the Trump administration argued that would not be faithful to the agreement, saying any back door would weaken protections for US citizens.

> The UK’s move against Apple ignited the most high-profile clash over encryption in almost a decade. But the circumstances of the notice the UK sent Apple are still shrouded in secrecy, with both sides prevented from discussing the order under British law.

> In February Apple withdrew its most secure cloud storage service from the UK, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, saying: “As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or master key to any of our products or services and we never will.”

> The company made a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal over the demand and the case is due to be heard early next year. Apple did not comment on Monday.

> The UK’s deal is a sign of Starmer’s desire to minimise tensions with the Trump administration in areas that are of paramount importance to Washington, as he tries to shield Britain from the worst of Trump’s tariffs and shore up US support for Ukraine.

> The UK Investigatory Powers Act has extraterritorial powers, hypothetically giving British law enforcement the right to access the data of Apple customers anywhere in the world, including in the US.

> The law has been called by critics a “snooper’s charter” but the government defends it as essential for combating terrorism and child sexual abuse.

> The UK Home Office, which has never confirmed nor denied the notice, said its joint security and intelligence arrangements with the US to tackle the most serious threats such as terrorism and child sexual abuse “have long contained safeguards to protect privacy and sovereignty”.

> The Home Office pointed to a Data Access Agreement between the UK and US, which allows law enforcement agencies to request data held by telecommunications providers in each other’s jurisdictions.

> The agreement “includes critical safeguards to prevent the UK and US from targeting the data of each other’s citizens”, it said.

> “We will continue to build on those arrangements, and we will also continue to take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe,” the Home Office added.

Say what you want about this US administration. Honestly do. This is great news for Apple users in a time where our privacy is being invaded by our own government.

Sad state of affairs when OUR civil liberties are rescued by the fucking Trump administration, of all things.