Trump Administration Pressures UK to Drop Apple Encryption Backdoor Demand

The UK government is reportedly looking for a way to de-escalate its encryption dispute with Apple, following significant pressure from the Trump administration, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Senior British officials told the publication that the Home Office will likely have to retreat from its demand that Apple build a "back door" into its secure cloud storage.

The officials expressed concern that the ongoing clash could hinder future technology agreements with the United States, including partnerships on AI and data. "This is something that the vice-president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved," one technology department official told the FT, adding, "The Home Office is basically going to have to back down." Another official described the situation as a "problem of the Home Office's own making," stating that the department is now "working on a way around it."

The pressure from Washington has been notable. U.S. President Donald Trump has likened the UK's order to something "that you hear about with China," while Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard previously called the order a potential "egregious violation" of Americans' privacy that could breach the data-sharing agreement between the two countries.


The dispute began in January when the Home Office secretly ordered Apple to create a technical capability to access end-to-end encrypted user data worldwide, using powers from the Investigatory Powers Act.

In response, Apple pulled its Advanced Data Protection feature in the U.K. and is challenging the order at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Meta's WhatsApp has since joined Apple's legal challenge.

Despite the internal discussions about backing down, the Home Office is still formally pursuing its case at the tribunal. A person familiar with the legal process told the FT, "At this point, the government has not backed down."

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