The United Kingdom has officially dropped its controversial demand for Apple to provide backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data, marking a major victory for privacy advocates and dealing a significant blow to government surveillance efforts worldwide. The reversal comes after months of diplomatic pressure from US officials who argued the secret order violated bilateral agreements and threatened American citizens' constitutional rights.
The encryption wars just took a dramatic turn. Apple has secured a landmark victory against government surveillance demands after the UK officially abandoned its secret order requiring backdoor access to encrypted iCloud data, according to US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
"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," Gabbard announced on X Monday. "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 announcement caps a year-long standoff that began when UK authorities issued a secret order in January demanding Apple provide backdoor access to encrypted files uploaded by users worldwide. The move represented one of the most aggressive government attempts to circumvent end-to-end encryption protections, with implications extending far beyond UK borders.
Apple responded decisively, pulling its Advanced Data Protection service entirely from the UK market and mounting a legal challenge that secured the right to publicly discuss the case by April. The company's willingness to sacrifice revenue in one of its key markets sent shockwaves through the tech industry and demonstrated the high stakes involved in the encryption debate.
The conflict escalated when US officials began examining whether the UK order violated the bilateral , which explicitly prohibits the US and UK from issuing data demands against each other's citizens. This diplomatic pressure proved decisive, with that Britain was looking for an exit strategy.