UK may back down on demand for backdoor access to Apple users' encrypted data
In January, the UK Home Office formally asked Apple to provide law enforcement agencies access to heavily encrypted data held on behalf of its customers. But the US company resisted and withdrew its advanced data protection service from the UK market. It argues privacy is one of its 'core values'.
The Financial Times reports that UK government sources believe pressure from Washington, including the US vice-president, JD Vance, means the Home Office is facing a climbdown.
Vance has previously criticised as 'crazy' the idea of 'creating a backdoor in our own technology networks' that enemies could exploit, even when they were established for domestic security purposes.
The FT quoted one Whitehall source saying 'the Home Office is basically going to have to back down' and another stating 'they are working on a way around it now'.
The Home Office did not immediately comment.
The Home Office had issued a 'technical capability notice' to Apple under the Investigatory Powers Act. But in February, Apple responded by withdrawing its advanced data protection (ADP) service in the UK and said: 'We have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services, and we never will.'
ADP is available everywhere else in the world and offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud drive and backup, notes, wallet passes, reminders and other services.
Apple has launched a legal challenge in the investigatory powers tribunal over the Home Office's powers to demand backdoor access. The Home Office demanded this challenge be kept secret by the courts but judges ordered details of the case be made public.
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The government is trying to position the UK as an appealing place for US tech companies to invest.
Some ministers have argued that encryption technology prevents law enforcement agencies from tackling criminals, including child abusers. But there are concerns that the demand for a backdoor could imperil technology agreements with the US, which could be an important part of Labour's trade strategy.
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The report said: 'After a decline in pensioner poverty in the 2000s, the number of pensioners in relative low income started to rise again from 2010. This has been exacerbated by increases in the cost of living since 2021.' It continued: 'The number of people of pension age living in relative poverty (below 60% of median income) is 1.9 million or 16% of pensioners. 'Measures which factor in the cost of living show that between 2008/09 and 2022/23, the number of pensioners in households below the Minimum Income Standard (MIS)—the amount needed for a minimum dignified socially acceptable standard of living—rose from 1.5 to 2.8 million. 'The proportion of pensioners below 75% of MIS (where the risk of material deprivation increases substantially) rose from 5.9% in 2021/22 to 9.5% in 2022/23. 'In practice, this means cutting back on essentials, like food, energy use and seeing friends, in an attempt to manage costs. Health experts explained the implications for health. 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Emma Douglas, wealth policy director at Aviva, said: 'The pensions industry – alongside a revitalised Pensions Commission – has a critical role to play in helping people save for retirement and then turn their hard-earned pension pots into lasting financial security. 'With many people likely to manage their money well into their 90s, we must ensure those savings work harder and stretch further – especially as later life can bring complex challenges like cognitive decline.' She said that Aviva and Age UK were exploring a 'mid-retirement MOT' to help give people tools, guidance, and confidence to stay financially resilient throughout retirement. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: 'We warmly welcome this thoughtful and wide-ranging select committee report, which comes closer to providing a thorough and progressive strategic overview of the issues facing older people on low incomes and proposing workable solutions than anything successive governments have produced in recent years. 'When the Government announced the launch of the Pensions Commission earlier this week, ministers made it clear that its task is to think about the creation of a better system for future pensioners. 'This is necessary and important, but this committee report reinforces the point that there's work to do to improve the situation of today's pensioners on low incomes as well.'
