LONDON: Britain has ordered Apple to give it unprecedentedly broad access to encrypted user data stored on Apple’s data cloud, the Washington Post newspaper reported on Friday.
The UK government’s “technical capability notice” requires blanket access rather than merely assistance to access a specific account, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources.
Governments routinely ask technology companies for user data to crack criminal cases, but Britain’s sweeping demand, issued last month, has no known precedent in major democracies, the Post said.
Britain’s interior ministry declined to comment, and Apple did not respond to an enquiry outside regular business hours.
Britain issues such notices under its Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which combined various existing powers on intercepting and obtaining communications.
While security officials say data encryption features make it harder to catch criminals, tech companies have long guarded their users’ right to privacy.
At issue is an Apple feature that allows users of its iPhones, Macs and other devices to ensure that only they — and not even Apple — can unlock data stored on its cloud.
Most Apple users employ security features such as two-factor authentication, but a smaller number seeking these tougher safeguards enable Advanced Data Protection.
As the UK was consulting last year on changes to the 2016 law that it said were needed to keep pace with evolving technologies and cyber threats, Apple told parliament that it would never build a “back door” into its products, and might therefore have to withdraw the advanced safeguard in Britain.
Britain’s Online Safety Act of 2023, which requires companies to take action against child sexual abuse material on their platforms, has also prompted criticism from tech companies.
Companies such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Signal have argued that it threatens the end-to-end encryption that underpins their messaging services.
In 2016, Apple successfully fought a U.S. order to unlock an encrypted iPhone belonging to a shooter in a deadly massacre in San Bernardino, California.