Government renews push to access encrypted Apple data

Apple has consistently pushed back against demands for backdoors

The British government has quietly renewed its efforts to compel Apple to weaken its encryption protections, issuing a new secret order early in September that targets data belonging to UK citizens stored on the tech giant's iCloud service.

The order, filed under the UK's controversial Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), marks a renewed attempt to gain access to encrypted customer data, this time more narrowly focused after a prior effort sparked a significant diplomatic rift with the United States.

As reported by the Financial Times, British officials have once again demanded that Apple build a backdoor into its iCloud system, allowing law enforcement access to encrypted information on UK citizens.

The request, known as a Technical Capability Notice (TCN), follows a broader January order that sought global access to users' private data.

That earlier move triggered sharp rebukes from the Trump administration and led to speculation that it could derail US-UK trade negotiations.

The Investigatory Powers Act, branded "the snooper's charter" by critics, grants sweeping powers to British authorities, including the ability to compel technology companies, regardless of where they are based, to assist in government surveillance.

The UK Home Office has defended the law as essential to national security, particularly in fighting terrorism and child sexual abuse.

However, Apple has consistently pushed back against such demands.

In February, in response to the initial TCN, the company withdrew its most secure offering, iCloud Advanced Data Protection (ADP), from the UK market.

The feature, which provides end-to-end encryption for users' data, is designed to ensure that even Apple itself cannot access the stored information.

"Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before," Apple said at the time.

On Wednesday, the company said it "is still unable to offer Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom to new users."

Apple reiterated its long-held position: "We have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will."

Under UK law, both Apple and the government are prohibited from publicly discussing the details of TCNs.

Privacy advocates warn that even a UK-only backdoor could have global consequences.

Caroline Wilson Palow, legal director of Privacy International, said the latest order might be "just as big a threat to worldwide security and privacy" as the broader one issued in January.

"If Apple breaks end-to-end encryption for the UK, it breaks it for everyone," she said.

Apple has already lodged a formal complaint over the original TCN with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the UK's surveillance court.

That legal challenge, supported by Privacy International and another advocacy group, Liberty, was scheduled to be heard early next year. The new order, however, may complicate or reset the legal proceedings.

The diplomatic fallout from the original demand was severe. Trump went so far as to compare the UK's request to Chinese-style surveillance practices.

In August, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Financial Times that Britain had agreed to drop the demand to access the "protected encrypted data of American citizens."

The diplomatic tension the two countries appeared to ease in September, when Keir Starmer hosted Trump for a high-profile state visit. During the visit, the two leaders announced a landmark deal involving billions of dollars in investment from US tech companies to bolster Britain's AI infrastructure.

According to two senior British government officials, the current US administration is no longer pressing the UK to drop the order, potentially signalling a shift in diplomatic priorities.