The UK has retreated from a controversial order that would have forced Apple to provide a backdoor to American users’ data, according to a statement from US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Here are the details.
In a post on X, Gabbard said the decision came after months of work with President Trump and Vice President Vance “to ensure Americans’ private data remains private.” She said that, as a result, the UK has agreed to drop the mandate.
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
As reported by Reuters, “British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was in Washington on Monday along with other European leaders to meet Trump and discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine,” so it is possible this issue may also have been discussed.
A bit of context
Back in January, as first reported by The Washington Post, UK authorities confidentially issued a so-called technical capability notice under the country’s Investigatory Powers Act, a law that gives the government sweeping powers to compel tech companies to weaken encryption.
The order would have required Apple to turn off Advanced Data Protection for iCloud (ADP) for US users, so that UK agencies could access cloud backups, voice memos, and other encrypted content.
In response to the mandate, Apple removed iCloud end-to-end encryption features from the UK, and in a statement provided to 9to5Mac at the time, the company said the following:
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