UK officials may retreat on Home Office's demand for Apple customer data access.

UK officials may retreat on Home Office's demand for Apple customer data access.

The British government may be forced to drop its plans to force Apple to build a backdoor to access encrypted user data, according to a recent report by the Financial Times. The demand, which was initially revealed in February, has sparked significant controversy and raised concerns about privacy and security.

The British government had secretly demanded Apple provide access to all encrypted user content uploaded to iCloud. This unprecedented request was argued to be necessary for law enforcement and security services to investigate serious crimes such as terrorism and child sexual abuse. In response, Apple removed Advanced Data Protection from the UK and filed a legal complaint to challenge the demand.

However, senior British officials speaking to the Financial Times have indicated that the UK is likely to drop the plan amid pressure from the U.S. government. The U.S. government has strongly objected to the demand, stating that it could impede vital technology agreements related to artificial intelligence and data partnerships. The U.S. administration, including the President, Vice-President, and Director of National Intelligence, have all raised objections to the British government's request.

The Financial Times reports that the Home Office has handled the issue of Apple encryption "very badly" and now finds itself "with its back against the wall." Despite this, the government still appears to be pursuing the demand and has discussed next steps with lawyers as recently as this month.

The demand to build a backdoor into iCloud and break Apple's end-to-end encryption could have significant implications for data privacy and security. It has already caused friction between the two governments and raised concerns about the potential for misuse of such access.

The UK government is also planning to sell over £5 billion in seized Bitcoin to help ease fiscal pressures, according to a report from The Telegraph. The Home Office is designing a centralized framework to manage storage and sales, with the Treasury closely monitoring potential proceeds. This move comes as the UK faces mounting budgetary challenges.

While the UK government's demand for Apple customer data access may be dropped, the sale of seized Bitcoin presents a potential financial boost. However, experts warn against a hasty sell-off, drawing parallels to the UK’s poorly timed gold sale in 1999.

References:
[1] https://www.macrumors.com/2025/07/20/uk-may-backtrack-on-demand-for-backdoor/
[2] https://cryptonews.com/news/uk-home-office-plans-to-sell-7-billion-in-seized-bitcoin-the-telegraph/