The British government has ordered Apple to give authorities secret access to its customers' encrypted iCloud data.
The request forces Apple to create a backdoor for British investigators to read iPhone backups and other data stored in the cloud - even Apple would no longer have full access protection.
The law has extraterritorial reach, so British authorities could access not only data from users in the United Kingdom, but also those in the USA or elsewhere.
The British security services argue that encrypted communication services like Apple iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal provide protection for terrorists, criminals, and child abusers and make law enforcement more difficult. Critics, however, see this as a massive weakening of digital privacy and IT security.
A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior did not want to comment on the order, while Apple has so far not provided a statement. The "Washington Post" was the first to report on the secret instruction.
Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation, spoke of a "shocking measure" that sidelines the UK technologically. "Instead of being a tech leader, the country isolates itself with an attack on global cybersecurity.
The controversial amendment was passed by the conservative government at the end of 2023 and prohibits affected companies from informing their users or the public about such surveillance measures. Apple had already warned that it might be forced to shut down its cloud encryption in the UK rather than accept a weakening of data security.
The confrontation is reminiscent of Apple's legendary conflict with the FBI in 2016, when the U.S. agency sought to force the company to unlock the iPhone of a San Bernardino attacker. Apple refused at the time, arguing that a backdoor once created "could be abused by criminals and authoritarian regimes.
Apple introduced the "Advanced Data Protection" service for iCloud in 2023 as optional end-to-end encryption. While iMessage is encrypted by default, users must enable this advanced security feature.
But many tech experts fear that this case will set a precedent in the UK that will force companies worldwide to integrate backdoors in the future – not only in cloud services, but also in popular messenger apps.
Daniel Castro, Vice President of the Washington think tank ITIF, warns: "The British government is crossing a dangerous red line. This decision undermines digital security worldwide.
