Wyden urges Gabbard to press UK on secret surveillance demands

Calls for public assessment of Britain's surveillance laws and possible US tech firm compliance

US Senator is urging the Trump administration to confront the UK authorities over their alleged attempted use of surveillance laws to compel US tech companies to build back doors into their encryption.

US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is urging the Trump administration to confront the United Kingdom authorities over their alleged use of surveillance laws to secretly compel American tech companies to grant "back door" access to encrypted data.

Such surveillance could compromise the privacy of millions of Americans and other users worldwide, the senator said.

In a letter seen by The Washington Post, Wyden called on Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to "conduct and make public an assessment of the national security threat posed by the UKs surveillance laws and its reported secret surveillance demands of US companies."

Wyden's concerns stem from revelations that Google declined to confirm or deny whether it had received demands from the British government to allow access to encrypted user data, raising the possibility that Apple may not be the only American tech giant under pressure from UK authorities.

Google told Wyden's office that, if such a demand had been made, it would be legally prohibited from acknowledging it.

Google "protects Android smartphone backups with end-to-end encryption, and Google has enabled this cybersecurity defense by default, protecting billions of people using Android phones," Wyden wrote.

This latest development follows months of controversy after reports surfaced in February that the UK Home Office had secretly ordered Apple to create a back door into its encrypted messaging system.

In response, Apple disabled its most secure data storage features for users in the UK – while leaving them available globally – and has since challenged the order in a British surveillance court.

Earlier this year, Wyden and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) jointly pressed Gabbard to intervene diplomatically, urging her to demand that the UK withdraw its order.

Gabbard agreed the demand represented "a clear and egregious violation of Americans' privacy and civil liberties."

In his new letter, Wyden expands the scope of concern beyond Apple, reporting that Meta assured his office it had not received any such surveillance demand from British authorities for its encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp.

Google, however, offered no such confirmation.

Privacy advocates are sounding alarms over the issue.

"The U.K. is undermining everyone's faith in the tech they depend on," said Jim Killock, executive director of the UK-based nonprofit Open Rights Group.

"Google's inability to give a straight answer to Sen. Wyden should worry the billions of Android users, especially those that depend on their encryption tech for their security."

Wyden's letter also raises red flags about the UK's 2016 surveillance law – known as the Investigatory Powers Act – which may give British authorities the ability to compel foreign companies to store user data in the UK or even install spyware on users' devices.

Changing stances on privacy and encryption

The broader debate over encryption and government surveillance is poised to become a flashpoint in US-UK negotiations over tech cooperation and digital trade, although Joe Jones, IAPP’s Director of Research & Insights and former Deputy Director for International Data Transfers at DCMS points out that the two countries have traded roles to some extent.

” For many years, the shoe was on the other foot: Europeans criticizing and even curtailing data sharing with the US because of concerns with US government access to data, buffeted by the wake of the Snowden revelations,” he said.

“Today, it’s the UK that’s drawing the ire of senior US politicians, even if some parts of the global – and indeed US – law enforcement community might be taking some inspiration from the UK’s actions.

“With the President, and soon to be the Vice President, visiting the UK over the Summer, a trade deal that has set US tariffs for the UK lower than any other nation, and an upcoming unprecedented UK State Visit for the President, one might conclude the Special Relationship has never been more special. Yet, there may be significant and potentially intractable differences on how to approach the intersection of privacy, public safety, and technological security.”

Others think the climbdown is already underway. Earlier this month, The Financial Times reported that the British government is exploring ways to soften its stance on back doors in light of sustained US pressure.

"This is something that the vice-president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved," an official in the UK’s technology department told the publication.

"The Home Office is basically going to have to back down."