Apple Challenges UK Order for British Encrypted Data, a Year After Dropping Wider US Demand
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 4
Apple Challenges UK Order for British Encrypted Data, a Year After Dropping Wider US Demand
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 4
Summary
Apple filed a new legal challenge against a UK government demand to access fully encrypted data belonging to British customers, confirming the case to CNBC without further comment.
The dispute centers on a Home Office order issued in early 2025 seeking a technical backdoor into cloud-stored encrypted material, which Apple has long said it will never build.
The latest notice appears narrower than the earlier fight because it targets British users rather than both British and American customers, though lawyers say US concerns are unlikely to disappear.
After the original request, Apple stopped offering Advanced Data Protection to new UK users and said existing users would eventually have to disable the feature.
The clash revives a transatlantic privacy and security battle that last year prompted interventions from Donald Trump and JD Vance before the UK dropped its broader demand.