After rejecting the UK government’s demand for access to user iPhone backups and iCloud data, Apple has decided to withdraw its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service from the country. The US tech giant stated, “Our commitment to safeguarding our users’ personal data at the highest security level remains, and we hope to reintroduce this in the United Kingdom in the future.”

In response to the UK government’s request for access to customer data, Apple decided to withdraw the most secure cloud storage service from the country. In a statement made on Friday, the company announced, “We are no longer able to offer our Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service in the United Kingdom.”

This system protected user data stored on iCloud through end-to-end encryption. Apple’s decision came after the UK government sent a technical capabilities notice to the company under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) last month.

Termed as the ‘Snooper’s Charter’ by critics, this law is a provision where the government argues the necessity to investigate crimes such as terrorism and child abuse. The law prohibits companies receiving such notices from disclosing government requests to the public, making Apple’s decision imply indirectly accepting this situation for the first time.

THE BIGGEST ENCRYPTION BATTLE OF THE PAST DECADE
The use of IPA against Apple happened for the first time since the law was updated last year, marking the most significant encryption battle in the technology industry over the past decade. Apple mentioned, “Our commitment to safeguarding our users’ personal data at the highest security level remains, and we hope to reintroduce this in the United Kingdom in the future.” Additionally, the company stated, “As we have said many times before, we have not created and will not create a ‘backdoor’ or ‘master key’ for any of our products or services.”

UK GOVERNMENT REQUESTED APPLE FOR A ‘BACKDOOR’
The ‘backdoor’ access demanded by the government from Apple would have enabled authorities to access iPhone backups and other iCloud data with court approval. Even Apple could not access this data, but thanks to the law, British authorities could have accessed encrypted iCloud data of Apple users anywhere in the world.

TECHNOLOGY SECTOR UNIFIED AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
After the UK government’s request was publicized earlier this month, the technology sector united against the government’s actions. Meta’s WhatsApp division head Will Cathcart stated, “If the UK mandates a global backdoor be added to Apple’s security systems, it jeopardizes everyone’s security. Secret decisions of one country can put us all at risk and must be stopped.”

UNPRECEDENTED GOVERNMENT OVERREACH
When the latest changes to the IPA law passed through Parliament in early 2024, Apple deemed the government’s requests as an “unprecedented government overreach” and indicated that they could withdraw some services from the country if such interventions continued. Apple’s messaging services iMessage and FaceTime are end-to-end encrypted, and since the government has no requests regarding these services, they will continue to be used in the UK.