U.K. drops ‘back door’ demand for Apple data

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the U.K. agreed to withdraw a request to access encrypted data from Apple’s U.S. users.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been working closely with our partners in the U.K., alongside [U.S. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance], to ensure Americans’ private data remains private and our Constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected,” Tulsi Gabbard said in a post on X. “As a result, the U.K. 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.”

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.
As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for…
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) August 19, 2025

Edith Hancock for The Wall Street Journal:
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The U.K. government this year reportedly requested that Apple create a so-called back door that would enable officials to gain access to encrypted user data uploaded to the iCloud.
Apple then said it would stop providing its iCloud Advanced Data Protection service to the U.K. market. “As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” the company said at the time.

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MacDailyNews Take: For many years now, we’ve been fairly clear on this issue:
It’s not enough that every Brit alive has a government camera shoved up their ass 24/7/365? The UK has already slipped so far down the slope that they ought to rename the place Airstrip One. – MacDailyNews, November 3, 2015
The UK is a surveillance state gone amok. – MacDailyNews, April 8, 2025
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin
The current batshit insane “leadership” of Airstrip One is having yet another crisis of confidence. – MacDailyNews, February 7, 2025
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. – Potter Stewart
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is an optional setting that offers Apple’s highest level of cloud data security. If you choose to enable Advanced Data Protection, the majority of your iCloud data — including iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more — is protected using end-to-end encryption. No one else can access your end-to-end encrypted data, not even Apple, and this data remains secure even in the case of a data breach in the cloud.
How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud
On Mac

Choose Apple menu  > System Settings.
Click your name, then click iCloud.
Click Advanced Data Protection, then click Turn On.
Follow the onscreen instructions to review your recovery methods and enable Advanced Data Protection.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the Settings app.
Tap your name, then tap iCloud.
Scroll down, tap Advanced Data Protection, then tap Turn on Advanced Data Protection.
Follow the onscreen instructions to review your recovery methods and enable Advanced Data Protection.

More info about Apple’s Advanced Data Protection for iCloud here.

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