It is known that US National Intelligence Director - Tulsi Gabbard posted this statement on X after a months-long controversy between Apple, the UK government and the US president.
Gabbard said the UK has dropped the requirement to create a "back door" to allow authorities, such as law enforcement, to access Apple users' encrypted data. This request has caused much tension between London and Washington due to its violation of civil liberties and the privacy of the people.
Gabbard also said that the UK made the above decision after many months of working with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The UK Home Affairs Ministry has refused to comment on the issue.
The controversy began when the Department of Home Affairs issued a "technical capacity notice" to Apple under the Investigation Rights Act, asking companies to assist law enforcement in providing evidence. Apple responded by filing a lawsuit, although the Department of Home Affairs requested to keep it confidential, the judges ordered it to be made public.
Previously, in February 2025, " Tao House" stopped providing its most advanced encryption feature called "Advanced Data Protection - ADP" to users in the UK. This feature helps ensure that only account owners can view content such as images and documents stored in the cloud via end-to-end encryption.
It is not yet clear whether the technical capacity notification requiring data access will be completely withdrawn or changed. However, this announcement may be limited to allowing UK citizens to access data, although experts warn that this may not be technologically feasible. At the same time, it raises the risk that other foreign governments can still find a way to use the "back door".
It is known that the UK-US data access agreement allows UK agencies to send requests for content directly to communication service providers, including social networking platforms and messaging services in the US. However, this must be done for the purpose of investigating, preventing, detecting and prosecuting serious crimes.
In the meeting earlier this year, Apple affirmed that the company has never and will not build a "back door" or "closure" for its products or services, affirming its commitment to protecting customers' privacy.
