UK Government orders Apple to give it access to users’ encrypted data in 'unprecedented attack on privacy'
8 February 2025, 11:18
The Government has ordered Apple to allow it to access encrypted files uploaded to the cloud by any Apple user worldwide, in an 'unprecedented attack on privacy'.
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The Home Office issued the order last month under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which allows authorities to ask companies for help when it needs to collect evidence.
The Washington Post said the order asked for blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not just assistance in accessing a specific account.
Currently only the person who owns the Apple account can access their data stored on the cloud - even Apple can’t see it.
The Home Office and Apple have been approached for comment, although legally, the order notice cannot be made public.
But the demand for a ‘back door’ has been refused by Apple before, and it is believed they would stop offering the advanced encryption service in the UK altogether rather than comply with the order.
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But the report warned this would not fulfil the Government's demand for broad access in other countries, as the Investigatory Powers Act applies globally to any firm with a UK market, even if they are not based there.
Civil liberties groups have criticised the order, which they called an 'unprecedented attack' on privacy rights for millions.
For years, Apple has promoted the privacy settings it provides its users as standard, as well as offering users an additional, opt-in, Advanced Data Protection tool to fully encrypt a wider range of their data in its iCloud service.
The company has frequently said it regards privacy as a "fundamental human right" and says its system means no one else can access a user's data, not even Apple itself.
Under the law, Apple can appeal against the UK's order, but cannot delay its application even during the appeal process.
Police and security services around the world have pushed for more access to encrypted communications in recent years, warning that it allows criminals such as terrorists and child abusers to more easily hide and hampers their efforts to catch them.
In response, tech firms have argued that users have a right to privacy and that any backdoors into software created for intelligence and security services could also be exploited by criminals or authoritarian regimes.
The interim director of privacy at civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, Rebecca Vincent, said: "We are extremely troubled by reports that the UK Government has ordered Apple to create a backdoor that would effectively break encryption for millions of users - an unprecedented attack on privacy rights that has no place in any democracy.
"Big Brother Watch has been ringing alarm bells about the possibility of precisely this scenario since the adoption of the Investigatory Powers Bill in 2016.
"We all want the Government to be able to effectively tackle crime and terrorism, but breaking encryption will not make us safer.
"Instead it will erode the fundamental rights and civil liberties of the entire population - and it will not stop with Apple.
"We urge the UK Government to immediately rescind this draconian order and cease attempts to employ mass surveillance in lieu of the targeted powers already at their disposal."
