Apple Drops iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection In UK Following Government Backdoor Order

Protecting our users' privacy and the security of their data is at the very heart of everything we do at Apple,

the company said in response to the 2023 bill from the UK Parliament that sought access to user data

We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,

Apple said, without referring to the government demand

We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices,

the UK

Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature,

it said in a statement

Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom,

the tech company said

Law enforcement authorities should be working with companies to help protect people's privacy against growing global threats, not forcing them to scrap important security improvements,

said CCIA senior director Matthew Sinclair

We know that end-to-end encryption allows offenders to groom and manipulate children and build communities where they can share vile child sexual abuse material without detection,

she said

This is a serious wake up call for the UK government and its never-ending quest to undermine end-to-end encryption. Apple is way more committed to privacy than it is to the UK, and rightly so,

he told the PA news agency

Apple’s decision to pull Advanced Data Protection in the UK is a direct response to increasing Government demands for access to encrypted user data,

he said

There is still encryption on Apple devices, things like iMessage and other on-device data encryption still exist, but now data specifically stored in iCloud (which has a huge number of users) will be accessible to Apple and potentially government agencies through legal requests,

he said

Instead of looking for a universal solution, the Home Office should be concentrating on targeted rather than bulk encryption breach”, given that this ensured “warrants are justified as proportionate and leave the innocent with their privacy”.

He said

Back down from this dangerous attack on US cybersecurity, or face serious consequences."

They urged her to give the UK an ultimatum

While the UK has been a trusted ally, the US government must not permit what is effectively a foreign cyberattack waged through political means,

the US politicians wrote

As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,

Apple said, linking to its prior statements

The more people who use it, the harder it will be to shut off this way,

said Green

If you are not in the U.K., you should turn on ADP now,

said Matthew Green, a cryptography expert and teacher at Johns Hopkins University, wrote on X in response to the news

Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before,

the statement said