USA forces Home Office climb down on demand that Apple allows Government access to encrypted iCloud accounts

The Home Office is expected to relinquish its demand that Apple create a back door to iOS, allowing Government access tp encrypted iCloud accounts.

US. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (main pic) claimed that “the UK has agreed to withdraw its mandate” after pressure from the Trump administration and JD Vance. However, at the time of writing, this has not been confirmed by the Home Office.

Gabbard stated:
“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 Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civi liberties”

The Home Office had not confirmed it would scrap its mandate, at the time of writing.

In January, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a notice under the Investigatory Powers Act, requesting Apple to create a means for law enforcement to access end-to-end encrypted iCloud data, even for users outside the UK.

Apple responded by disabling its encrypted iCloud backup feature (Advanced Data Protection, or ADP) for UK users and launched an appeal in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, calling for transparency and public hearings.

The USA is pushing backc on all fronts to the perception that the UK Government is stifling free speech. Earlier this week American law Byrne & Storm declared iutwould take Ofcom to federal court for fining Delaware-regitered  4chan £20,000 because the web site did not respond to demands for compliance under the Online Safety Act.