Latest news with #Wyden
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Google says UK government has not demanded an encryption backdoor for its users' data
The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple builds a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K. government. Google refused to answer the lawmaker's questions, but has since confirmed to TechCrunch that the technology giant has not received a backdoor demand. Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the U.K. Home Office sought a secret court order in the U.K.'s surveillance court demanding that Apple allows U.K. authorities to access the end-to-end encrypted cloud data stored on any customer in the world, including their iPhone and iPad backups. Apple encrypts the data in such a way that only customers, and not Apple, can access their data stored on its servers. Under U.K. law, tech companies subject to secret surveillance court orders, such as Apple, are legally barred from revealing details of an order, or the existence of the order itself, despite details of the demand publicly leaking earlier this year. Critics called the secret order against Apple 'draconian,' saying it would have global ramifications for users' privacy. Apple has since appealed the legality of the order. In a new letter sent to top U.S. intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that while tech companies cannot say whether they have received a U.K. order, at least one technology giant has confirmed that it hasn't received one. Meta, which uses end-to-end encryption to protect user messages sent between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, told Wyden's office on March 17 that the company has 'not received an order to backdoor our encrypted services, like that reported about Apple.' Google, for its part, would not tell Wyden's office if it had received a U.K. government order for accessing encrypted data, such as Android backups, 'only stating that if it had received a technical capabilities notice, it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact,' said Wyden. Google spokesperson Karl Ryan told TechCrunch in a statement: 'We have never built any mechanism or 'backdoor' to circumvent end-to-end encryption in our products. If we say a product is end-to-end encrypted, it is.' When explicitly asked by TechCrunch, Ryan said: 'We haven't received a technical capabilities notice,' referring to any U.K. surveillance order. Wyden's letter, first reported by The Washington Post and shared with TechCrunch, called on Gabbard to make public its 'assessment of the national security risks posed by the U.K.'s surveillance laws and its reported secret demands of U.S. companies.' This story was updated with additional comment from Google, shared in response to a TechCrunch inquiry.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Google won't say if UK secretly demanded a backdoor for user data
The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple builds a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K. government, and Google has so far refused to say. Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the U.K. Home Office sought a secret court order in the U.K.'s surveillance court demanding that Apple allows U.K. authorities to access the end-to-end encrypted cloud data stored on any customer in the world, including their iPhone and iPad backups. Apple encrypts the data in such a way that only customers, and not Apple, can access their data stored on its servers. Under U.K. law, tech companies subject to secret surveillance court orders, such as Apple, are legally barred from revealing details of an order, or the existence of the order itself, despite details of the demand publicly leaking earlier this year. Critics called the secret order against Apple 'draconian,' saying it would have global ramifications for users' privacy. Apple has since appealed the legality of the order. In a new letter sent to top U.S. intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that while tech companies cannot say whether they have received a U.K. order, at least one technology giant has confirmed that it hasn't received one. Meta, which uses end-to-end encryption to protect user messages sent between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, told Wyden's office on March 17 that the company has 'not received an order to backdoor our encrypted services, like that reported about Apple.' Google, for its part, has refused to tell Wyden's office if it had received a U.K. government order for accessing encrypted data, such as Android backups, 'only stating that if it had received a technical capabilities notice, it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact,' Wyden said. Google spokesperson Karl Ryan told TechCrunch in a statement: 'We have never built any mechanism or 'backdoor' to circumvent end-to-end encryption in our products. If we say a product is end-to-end encrypted, it is.' When explicitly asked by TechCrunch, Google would not say whether or not it has to date received an order from the U.K. government. Wyden's letter, first reported by The Washington Post and shared with TechCrunch, called on Gabbard to make public its 'assessment of the national security risks posed by the U.K.'s surveillance laws and its reported secret demands of U.S. companies.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
US senator's letter suggests Apple may not be the only tech company fighting UK's ‘backdoor' entry request
Senator Ron Wyden has formally requested Tulsi Gabbard , Director of National Intelligence, to initiate an investigation into the UK's alleged digital spying practices, raising alarms that British surveillance laws may be compromising the private data of millions of Americans. In a letter, Wyden suggested that Google, alongside Apple , may have been secretly pressured to allow 'backdoor' access to user data. The senator's concern stems from Google's refusal to clarify if it has received such a demand, stating only that it would be prohibited from disclosing such a request if one existed. Citing the letter, The Washington Post said Google told the Senator's office it could not confirm or deny whether the British government had demanded 'backdoor' access to private user data on its services. This raises serious questions about whether Google, like Apple, has faced such secret demands. Apple has resisted the attempts to access encrypted user data , with reports surfacing earlier this year that the UK Home Office had secretly ordered Apple to create a backdoor for encrypted messages. In response, Apple disabled its most secure data storage option for UK users, while maintaining it globally. Wyden had previously written to Gabbard, urging her to demand the UK retract its order. Gabbard had concurred, calling such a backdoor demand 'a clear and egregious violation of Americans' privacy and civil liberties.' Apple is currently challenging the order in a British surveillance court. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Was Everyone's Dream Girl In 90's, This Is Her Now The Latest Article Undo Google may have faced Apple-like pressure from UK: Wyden Wyden's latest letter suggests that the privacy implications extend far beyond Apple users. While Meta, offering encrypted messaging via WhatsApp and Instagram, told Wyden's office in March it had received no such backdoor requests from the UK, Google's non-committal response is deeply troubling, he said. 'When my office asked Google about backdoor demands from the UK, the company did not answer the question, only stating that if it had received [such a demand], it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact,' Wyden wrote, noting this was the same response Apple had previously given. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Google won't say if UK secretly demanded a backdoor for user data
The U.K. government is reportedly backing down from its earlier demand that Apple builds a secret backdoor allowing its authorities access to customer data worldwide, following a harsh rebuke from the U.S. government. But one U.S. senator wants to know if other tech giants, like Google, have also received secret backdoor demands from the U.K. government, and Google has so far refused to say. Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the U.K. Home Office sought a secret court order in the U.K.'s surveillance court demanding that Apple allows U.K. authorities to access the end-to-end encrypted cloud data stored on any customer in the world, including their iPhone and iPad backups. Apple encrypts the data in such a way that only customers, and not Apple, can access their data stored on its servers. Under U.K. law, tech companies subject to secret surveillance court orders, such as Apple, are legally barred from revealing details of an order, or the existence of the order itself, despite details of the demand publicly leaking earlier this year. Critics called the secret order against Apple 'draconian,' saying it would have global ramifications for users' privacy. Apple has since appealed the legality of the order. In a new letter sent to top U.S. intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that while tech companies cannot say whether they have received a U.K. order, at least one technology giant has confirmed that it hasn't received one. Meta, which uses end-to-end encryption to protect user messages sent between WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, told Wyden's office on March 17 that the company has 'not received an order to backdoor our encrypted services, like that reported about Apple.' Google, for its part, has refused to tell Wyden's office if it had received a U.K. government order for accessing encrypted data, such as Android backups, 'only stating that if it had received a technical capabilities notice, it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact,' Wyden said. Google spokesperson Karl Ryan told TechCrunch in a statement: 'We have never built any mechanism or 'backdoor' to circumvent end-to-end encryption in our products. If we say a product is end-to-end encrypted, it is.' When explicitly asked by TechCrunch, Google would not say whether or not it has to date received an order from the U.K. government. Wyden's letter, first reported by The Washington Post and shared with TechCrunch, called on Gabbard to make public its 'assessment of the national security risks posed by the U.K.'s surveillance laws and its reported secret demands of U.S. companies.'
Miami Herald
24-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Pam Bondi Handed Epstein Files Road Map-'Follow the Money'
Senator Ron Wyden, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has written to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to "follow the money" and launch a fresh investigation into the financial affairs of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein using Treasury Department documents. In his letter sent on Monday, Wyden said the Department of Justice (DOJ) "failed to conduct a real investigation into the funding of Epstein's sex trafficking operation" and accused four major banks of processing "billions in suspicious transactions that flowed through Epstein's accounts" that were not flagged to the Treasury until after the financier's suicide in August 2019. Newsweek contacted Senator Wyden and the DOJ for comment on Thursday via email and online inquiry form respectively outside of regular office hours. Earlier this month the DOJ and the FBI released a joint statement insisting Epstein "died by suicide" and had "no incriminating 'client list.'" The move sparked a furious reaction from a section of President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, which has long believed Epstein was murdered to cover up the participation of prominent figures in sexual abuse. Wyden's letter shows the Trump administration will continue to face intense pressure to further investigate the Epstein case, or release documents it has concerning this, despite its apparent efforts to close down the subject. Addressing Attorney General Bondi in his letter Wyden said he was "convinced that the DOG ignored evidence found in the U.S. Treasury Department's Epstein file," which he said "contains extensive details on the mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent business owners that Epstein used to finance his criminal network." In response to what he termed "the DOJ's lack of thoroughness" Wyden provided Bondi with "a road map with a list of 'follow the money' leads on Jeffrey Epstein." Wyden noted the Senate Finance Committee on February 14 2024 reviewed "thousands of page[s] of Treasury Department files documenting the flow of money in and out of Jeffrey Epstein's accounts" which he concluded "contains significant information on the sources of funding behind Epstein's sex trafficking activities." He said this included documents showing more than 4,725 wire transfers involving Epstein's accounts from 2003 to 2019 totaling $1.08 billion. In his seven-point action plan Wyden said Bondi should "direct DOJ prosecutors and FBI agents to immediately investigate the evidence contained in the Treasury Department records on Epstein" including alleged payments of several hundred million dollars to Epstein from "ultra-wealthy Wall Street financiers." He also said the DOJ should subpoena internal records related by Epstein held by major Western banks. Another of Wyden's points urged the DOG to investigate payments of "hundreds of millions of dollars" via Russian banks that "were correlated to the movement of women or girls around the world." He also called on the department to subpoena documents from the U.S. Virgin Islands regarding a deal giving one of Epstein's associates immunity from prosecution in 2023. Wyden also said several major banks "likely broke the law" by only flagging suspect payments involving Epstein after he had been criminally charged, despite this being a requirement of federal anti-money laundering legislation. Finally Wyden urged the DOJ to "conduct depositions with bankers responsible for overseeing large accounts transacting with Jeffrey Epstein." On Wednesday The Wall Street Journal reported that in May Trump was informed that his name appeared "multiple times" in Epstein documents possessed by the DOJ by Bondi. White House communications director Steven Cheung described the report as "another fake news story." In his letter Wyden said: "Epstein clearly had access to enormous financing to operate his sex trafficking network, and the details on how he got the cash to pay for it are sitting in a Treasury Department filing cabinet." In their joint statement earlier this month the FBI and DOJ said its "systematic review" of Epstein related files "revealed no incriminating 'client list.'" They added: "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." Trump is likely to face further pressure to release more documents related to the Epstein case from both congressional Democrats and a section of his own MAGA base. On Tuesday House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, adjourned the lower chamber till September in a move that blocks any imminent vote on releasing the Epstein files. Related Articles Pam Bondi Cancels Speech Over Medical Issue: What We KnowFull List of Republicans Who Voted to Subpoena Epstein Files from DOJWhite House Reacts to Report That Bondi Told Trump He Was in Epstein FilesTrump Admin Request to Unseal Epstein Transcripts Turned Down by Judge 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
