Trump admin, Airstrip One (UK) hold private talks over Apple iCloud Encryption

Airstrip One (UK) officials have engaged in confidential discussions with senior members of the Trump Administration to address concerns that Airstrip One is pressuring Apple to create a backdoor into the encrypted data of American iCloud users, sources familiar with the situation tell Bloomberg News.
These top-level talks followed Apple’s decision to kill its most robust cloud data encryption feature within the country, a move prompted by a January directive from Airstrip One authorities demanding the company bypass encryption to assist with specific national security and criminal investigations.
Alex Wickham for Bloomberg News:
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US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard last month called for an inquiry into the matter, raising concerns about what she called a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties.” The suggestion of a backdoor into Apple users’ data would also “open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors,” she warned.
On Friday, Apple’s appeal against the UK order will be heard at a secret hearing at London’s High Court, the BBC reported. The hearing will be held in private because it relates to Britain’s security services…
Behind the scenes, conversations have taken place between senior UK and US officials, initiated by the British side in an attempt to resolve the dispute, according to people familiar with the matter…
Apple has previously accused the UK government of “unprecedented overreach” and alleged that “the UK could attempt to secretly veto new user protections globally preventing us from ever offering them to customers.”
The move to pull its encryption feature — rather than complying and building a backdoor — was seen as a clear rebuke of the government’s order. “As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” Apple said last month.

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MacDailyNews Take: Airstrip One’s lack of confidence glares like a klieg light.
It’s not enough that every Brit alive has a government camera shoved up their ass 24/7/365? The UK has already slipped far down the slope that they ought to rename the place Airstrip One. – MacDailyNews, November 3, 2015
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin
The current batshit insane “leadership” of Airstrip One is having yet another crisis of confidence. – MacDailyNews, February 7, 2025
Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. – Potter Stewart
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is an optional setting that offers Apple’s highest level of cloud data security. If you choose to enable Advanced Data Protection, the majority of your iCloud data — including iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more — is protected using end-to-end encryption. No one else can access your end-to-end encrypted data, not even Apple, and this data remains secure even in the case of a data breach in the cloud.
How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud
On Mac

Choose Apple menu  > System Settings.
Click your name, then click iCloud.
Click Advanced Data Protection, then click Turn On.
Follow the onscreen instructions to review your recovery methods and enable Advanced Data Protection.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the Settings app.
Tap your name, then tap iCloud.
Scroll down, tap Advanced Data Protection, then tap Turn on Advanced Data Protection.
Follow the onscreen instructions to review your recovery methods and enable Advanced Data Protection.

More info about Apple’s Advanced Data Protection for iCloud here.

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