The Financial Times Reports the UK Is Backing Down From Its Demand for Apple to Grant It an iCloud Encryption Backdoor

The UK government, under pressure from the Trump administration, may retreat from its demand for Apple to provide access to secure customer data. This demand, issued by the Home Office, seeks access to Apple's most secure cloud storage system. US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, are reportedly very annoyed by the UK's stance. The UK's push to break Apple's end-to-end encryption could jeopardize technology agreements with the US. The US considers this a "red line" and doesn't want the UK interfering with their tech companies. Apple previously pulled iCloud Advanced Data Protection from the UK after receiving the demand. The core issue transcends politics, involving fundamental privacy, security, and civil liberties concerns. A secret backdoor into encrypted systems is considered unacceptable from various perspectives. Effectively, mandating a backdoor bans end-to-end encryption. The Biden administration is criticized for allegedly enabling the UK's actions by not opposing them.