Two US lawmakers urge White House to end UK data treaty after Apple backdoor order

On Tuesday, two U.S. lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump’s administration, calling for the termination of a data-sharing agreement with the U.K. and advocating for a new deal to be negotiated, following reports that the U.K. had directed Apple to create a backdoor into encrypted user data.
In February, the British government instructed Apple to develop a system granting it access to end-to-end encrypted data uploaded by Apple users globally — an unprecedented request framed by the U.K. as a measure to prevent crime and pursue offenders. Apple responded by discontinuing its Advanced Data Protection feature for U.K. users that same month and is now challenging the directive. The U.K.’s order raised alarms among U.S. officials, who fear it could breach the CLOUD Act agreement between the two nations by enabling the U.K. to access U.S. citizens’ data.
Reuters:
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Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, and Arizona Republican Andy Biggs, who chairs a subcommittee on surveillance, asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to end the U.S.-U.K. agreement made under the CLOUD Act.
That agreement, which has been in place since 2019 and was renewed last year, allows the U.K. government to ask U.S. companies such as Apple to hand over data during criminal investigations – but not if the targets are U.S. citizens.
The two members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged Bondi to “renegotiate it to adequately protect American citizens from foreign government surveillance,” according to the letter, which was seen by Reuters.

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MacDailyNews Take: The UK is a surveillance state gone amok. End the agreement.
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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