Apple has been ordered to allow the government access to the encrypted cloud back-ups of British users, after a similar request inflamed tensions with President Trump.
The Home Office instructed the tech giant to create a back door for governments to get past encryption in users’ cloud back-up storage service, specifying that the access would concern only the data of British citizens.
A previous request that included American users’ data was met with a strong backlash from the Trump administration.
The technical capability notice (TCN) was issued in January and requested global access to encrypted user data. It prompted a diplomatic row between the US and UK governments and there were said to be fears it could derail efforts to broker a bilateral trade agreement.
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A spokesman for the American tech company said: “Apple is still unable to offer advanced data protection [ADP] in the United Kingdom to new users.
“We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP are not available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy.
“As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or master key to any of our products or services and we never will.”
The Home Office refused to comment on any specifics when questioned by the Financial Times. A spokesman said: “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.
“We will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe.”
TCNs legally prohibit Apple and the Home Office from discussing any such orders but privacy campaigners have responded by warning that the order could put global customers’ private information at risk.
Data that could be subject to the order includes all information stored in iCloud, such as passwords, message history and health data.
Caroline Wilson Palow, the legal director of Privacy International, claimed that the new order could be “just as big a threat to worldwide security and privacy” as the previous one.
She said: “If Apple breaks end-to-end encryption for the UK, it breaks it for everyone. The resulting vulnerability can be exploited by hostile states, criminals and other bad actors the world over.”
Apple has brought a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal over the first order, in a case backed by Privacy International and another privacy campaign group, Liberty.
The case was due to be heard next year but the government’s new demand could restart the process.
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