UK wants to weasel out of demand for Apple encryption back door

The UK government is reportedly set to back down from its battle with Apple to obtain back door access to secure user data protected by the company’s iCloud encryption. Victory hasn’t come through the courts, or government figures changing their minds on privacy matters, but thanks to ongoing pressure from the US during the two countries’ trade talks.

Multiple unnamed UK officials told the Financial Times that the UK government is working on a way out. “The Home Office is basically going to have to back down,” one said, adding that vice-president JD Vance was especially opposed to the UK’s demand, which may violate the Cloud Act treaty between the two countries. “It’s a big red line in the US — they don’t want us messing with their tech companies.”

Another official echoed that, explaining that the UK wants to avoid pushing too hard for “anything that looks to the US vice-president like a free-speech issue.” A third official said the UK had “its back against the wall,” and wants a way out: “It’s a problem of the Home Office’s own making, and they’re working on a way around it now”.

The UK issued a secret order demanding Apple grant it an encryption back door in January this year, asking for access to files uploaded by users worldwide. In response Apple stopped offering its end-to-end encrypted iCloud storage, Advanced Data Protection, in the UK, and filed an appeal against the order. In April Apple won its first victory, the right to openly discuss the case, and last month WhatsApp announced that it had applied to present evidence to the court to support Apple’s case.