UK drops demands for back door access to encrypted Apple data
The UK is no longer seeking a back door that would have allowed it to access encrypted data of Apple users. Controversial from the start, the UK has been pushing for technology firms such as Apple, Meta and others to provide it with access to encrypted users data.
Billed as a crime-fighting measure, the requests outraged not only the companies involved, but also privacy advocates and concerned individuals. But now the US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, says that the UK has had a change of heart.
Writing on X, Gabbard says that: “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”.
She continues:
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 request for data access is something that the UK has been talking about for some time, with an official request having been put to Apple back in December. It is not quite clear what has happened in the intervening eight months, but there have obviously been high-level talks that ultimately swung things in the way of privacy advocates.
The UK is giving nothing away, with a UK government spokesperson telling the BBC:
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.
While this latest news will be welcomed by many people – and tech firms who face similar demands – the threat posed by the Investigatory Powers Act cited by the UK as the reason for the backdoor demand remain extremely concerning.
Apple is yet to issue a statement about the UK’s demands being dropped.
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