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UK Demands Apple Create Backdoor to Encrypted User Data
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By News
Published 7 months ago on
February 7, 2025

UK's secret order to Apple for global access to encrypted data sparks debate on privacy vs. security in the digital age. (Shutterstock)

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The United Kingdom has ordered Apple to create a backdoor allowing access to all encrypted cloud content of Apple users worldwide, according to sources familiar with the matter speaking to The Washington Post.

This unprecedented demand, made last month under the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act, known as the “Snoopers’ Charter,” would undermine Apple’s privacy promises to its users globally.

The order requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not just assistance with specific accounts. Apple is likely to stop offering encrypted storage in the U.K. rather than comply, but this wouldn’t satisfy the demand for backdoor access in other countries.

“There is no reason why the U.K. [government] should have the authority to decide for citizens of the world whether they can avail themselves of the proven security benefits that flow from end-to-end encryption,” Apple told Parliament in March.

The order is part of an ongoing global debate over encryption. While most users and companies like Apple advocate for stronger privacy protections, some governments push for backdoors to access digital data.

Apple has long resisted such demands, including fighting the FBI over access to the San Bernardino shooter’s phone in 2016.

Under the Investigatory Powers Act, it’s illegal for Apple to disclose receiving such an order. However, before receiving this specific order, the company had warned Parliament that this same law could force it to “publicly withdraw critical security features from the UK market, depriving UK users of these protections.”

Read more at The Washington Post

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