UK may retreat on iCloud backdoor plan following US pressure

Reportedly, the United Kingdom will no longer force Apple to build a backdoor into iCloud.

Senior British government officials, who wish to remain anonymous, have told the Financial Times that the United Kingdom will “probably” no longer require a backdoor for iCloud.

With this requirement, the British government would be crossing a line for the US because “they don’t want us touching their tech companies,” as one of the sources told the news outlet. It would also violate agreements the UK has with the United States, including the CLOUD Act.

According to the officials, the UK has not yet officially decided to drop the requirement, but they say they expect the government will have no choice but to back down.

In February of this year, Apple received a so-called Technical Capabilities Notice (TCN) from the British government, ordering the American tech company to provide backdoor access to end-to-end encrypted data stored in users’ iCloud accounts.

In response, Apple decided to pull its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for new users in the United Kingdom, meaning iCloud backups can no longer be encrypted and are theoretically accessible by intelligence agencies.

The US government has objected to the UK’s demand for a built-in backdoor to iCloud accounts on numerous occasions.

For starters, multiple members of Congress have urged the UK to “remove the cloak of secrecy” surrounding the order.

According to the officials, the UK has not yet officially decided to drop the requirement, but they say they expect the government will have no choice but to back down.

“Given the significant technical complexity of this issue, as well as the important national security harms that will result from weakening cybersecurity defenses, it is imperative that the UK’s technical demands of Apple, and of any other US companies, be subjected to robust, public analysis and debate by cybersecurity experts,” they stated in a letter that was published in March.

Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, called the British government’s order to create secret backdoors a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties.”

This sentiment echoed around the tech community. Meredith Whittaker, CEO of Signal, called the UK’s approach reckless. “Using Technical Capability Notices to weaken encryption around the globe is a shocking move that will position the UK as a tech pariah, rather than a tech leader,” she said.

WhatsApp's head, Will Cathcart, promised the media that his company would “challenge any law or government request that seeks to weaken the encryption of our services and will continue to stand up for people’s right to a private conversation online.”