Apple Inc. AAPL has scored a major victory in its long-running fight to protect user privacy, with U.S. intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard announcing that Britain has dropped its demand for a backdoor into the company's encrypted services.
Britain Dropped Apple Encryption Backdoor Demand
On Monday, Gabbard took to X, formerly Twitter, and said that she had worked for months with the Donald Trump administration and British officials to resolve the dispute.
“The U.K. has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties,” she said on X.
On the same day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was in Washington for talks with Trump and other European leaders about Russia's war in Ukraine, reported Reuters.
A U.K. government spokesperson did not confirm the deal but said Britain works closely with the U.S. to address security threats while protecting civil liberties, the report said.
See Also: Ramit Sethi Lays Out the Most Common Money Traps—And How To Dodge Them Before It's Too Late
What Was The UK Order That Sparked Backlash
The conflict began when the U.K. Home Office issued a technical capability notice under the Investigatory Powers Act, ordering Apple to weaken encryption so law enforcement could access iCloud backups.
In February, Apple pulled its Advanced Data Protection feature from the UK, preventing users from enabling full end-to-end encryption.
Apple has consistently refused to create backdoors for governments, arguing that doing so would undermine security for everyone. The company made the same case during its 2016 battle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone used in the San Bernardino terror attack.
Gabbard and U.S. lawmakers warned earlier this year that the U.K. order could violate the Cloud Act, which prohibits either nation from unilaterally demanding access to the other's citizens' data.
At the time, cybersecurity specialists also backed Apple's position.
Apple's Strong Quarter Amid Dispute
Despite the regulatory fight, Apple reported $94 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, beating Wall Street expectations of $89 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.57, well above analyst forecasts of $1.42.
Price Action: On Tuesday, Apple's stock dipped 0.14% in regular trading and fell another 0.32% in after-hours, as per data from Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings highlight that AAPL continues to display strong upward momentum across short, medium and long-term periods. More performance insights can be found here.
Read Next:
Photo Courtesy: Maxim Elramsisy on Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Edge Rankings
Price Trend
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
