US Intel Chief Celebrates UK Retreat on Apple Backdoor Order

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence praised the United Kingdom’s apparent reversal of its demand that Apple grant access to encrypted iCloud accounts, framing the move as a victory for American privacy and civil liberties.

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Tulsi Gabbard wrote in a Monday night post on X that the U.K. “agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘backdoor’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens.” She said the decision followed months of collaboration with U.K. partners “to ensure Americans’ private data remains private.”

The announcement follows a legal defeat for the U.K., which failed to keep secret its attempt to compel Apple to build a backdoor into an end-to-end encryption service that ensures data kept in the company’s iCloud can decrypted only through a specific, pre-registered Apple device.

The country’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal dismissed in April a government effort to block disclosure of its use of a 2016 law requiring Apple to provide law enforcement with unencrypted customer data (see: UK Loses Bid for Complete Secrecy Over Apple Backdoor Demand).

Apple deactivated the end-to-end encryption service, which it calls Advanced Data Protection, in February for British users rather than comply with the order (see: Apple Withdraws Strong Encryption Feature for All UK Users).

A chorus of U.S. lawmakers and privacy advocates urged the tribunal to reject the British government’s efforts.

Gabbard in February argued the order could violate a bilateral agreement meant to facilitate law enforcement access to data held by U.S. tech companies. The agreement, authorized in the U.S. under the Cloud Act, comes with one significant limitation: British police can’t use it to obtain information about U.S. residents located inside the United States.

“Any information sharing between a government – any government – and private companies must be done in a manner that respects and protects the U.S. law and the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens,” Gabbard wrote. Encryption experts say it’s not possible for a backdoor to be built into an encryption system without undermining protections for all users.

The U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It remains unclear whether the U.K. plans to issue revised demands requiring Apple to turn over specific data.

Apple also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.