UK asks Apple to hand over all of its users’ global cloud backups

• The United Kingdom filed an undisclosed complaint demanding Apple give it access to all content Apple users worldwide have uploaded to the cloud. It’s a major test of Apple’s commitment to privacy.
• Apple has previously rejected government efforts to get the company to help it break into locked devices.
• The British government has said encrypting messaging and other data protects people engaging in criminal activity. However, privacy advocates worry about the possible global reach of the U.K.’s request.

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The United Kingdom’s government is demanding Apple give it access to all content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud. The request, which has not been made public according to British law, asks for access to end-to-end encrypted data. 

Currently, only users can access that data, which is protected even from Apple.

Apple said publicly it views privacy as a “fundamental human right,” making it unlikely it will give the U.K. access.

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The Washington Post, which first reported on the British government’s order, spoke to sources familiar with the matter. Those sources said Apple will likely respond by no longer offering end-to-end encryption in the U.K.

The British government has pushed tech companies hard on end-to-end encryption, saying it helps hide criminal activity, particularly for terrorists and child abusers. Various tech companies have offered end-to-end encrypted messages, including Meta and Signal. However, unlike other data, Apple’s messages do not lose their encrypted status when uploaded to the cloud.

Apple has resisted governmental pushes to break its privacy protections before. In 2016, Apple fought a challenge from law enforcement officials who wanted it to grant access to a locked iPhone used by a gunman who killed 14 people the previous year in San Bernardino, California.

The U.K.’s push has drawn criticism in the United States. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told The Washington Post that the U.S. should push the U.K. to halt its efforts.

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“[President Donald] Trump and American tech companies letting foreign governments secretly spy on Americans would be unconscionable and an unmitigated disaster for Americans’ privacy and our national security,” Wyden said.

In the U.S., government officials have prioritized worries about potential Chinese hacking. In December, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security encouraged Americans to use encrypted services to protect their phone services.