London (AFP) – Britain has dropped its request for access to Apple users’ encrypted data, which had created friction between London and Washington, US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said Tuesday. The UK government wanted the tech giant to create a “back door” to let authorities snoop on data uploaded by Apple users if required, for example, by law enforcement agencies. Gabbard said the request “would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties.”
Many tech platforms pride themselves on being able to guarantee privacy through encryption of messages and other content, and providing access to law enforcement has long been seen as off-limits. The UK “agreed to drop its mandate” after months of work with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Gabbard posted on X. The UK interior ministry declined to comment, telling AFP that “We do not comment on operational matters.”
Apple stopped offering its most advanced encryption feature — known as Advanced Data Protection — for British users in February. ADP ensures that only account holders can view content such as photos and documents stored in the cloud through end-to-end encryption. Police officials worldwide say encryption can shield criminals, terrorists, and pornographers from prosecution, even when authorities have a legal warrant for an investigation.
But civil rights and privacy advocates, along with many cybersecurity professionals, praise data encryption as a way to protect against wrongful snooping by authorities as well as hackers. Apple said earlier this year that it had never built a “back door” or “master key” for any of its products or services, and never would.
© 2024 AFP
