The º£½ÇÊÓƵ government has reportedly retreated from its plans to compel Apple to disclose encrypted user data, as per the US intelligence chief under President Trump.
Tulsi Gabbard informed the Financial Times that the government has decided to relinquish its demands for a "back door" to data, as reported by .
JD Vance, the US vice-president, is said to have stepped in to negotiate an exemption for the tech behemoth, which was facing an official directive under the Investigatory Powers Act to grant the º£½ÇÊÓƵ access to iCloud user data.
A US official disclosed to the FT: "The vice-president negotiated a mutually beneficial understanding that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ government will withdraw the current back-door order to Apple."
Although the order hasn't been officially rescinded yet, it's believed to be a "settled" matter, and a º£½ÇÊÓƵ official told the financial newspaper that "we can't and we won't" force Apple to provide a back door for encrypted data.
Gabbard stated: "Over the past few months, I've been working closely with our partners in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, alongside President Trump and vice-president Vance, to ensure Americans' private data remains private and our constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected.
"I'm happy to share that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ 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."
º£½ÇÊÓƵ and US divided on 'free speech'
The government is hopeful that this concession will ease tensions between London and Washington on the matter, following several interventions from figures within and close to the Trump administration.
In February, during an otherwise successful and friendly meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, Vance voiced concerns about "infringements on free speech".
Starmer refuted these claims, stating he was "very proud of our history" regarding free speech.
US officials pointed to the measures in the Online Safety Act, which came into effect on 25th July, as evidence of alleged attacks on free speech by Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Elon Musk's X platform, a former supporter and major donor to Trump, posted an article titled 'What Happens When Oversight Becomes Overreach', echoing Vance's language and warning of the "risk of seriously infringing on the public's right to free expression".
This marks the first significant backtrack in Labour's implementation of the contentious online restrictions, which have caused numerous political challenges for the government.
While 80 per cent of the public support restrictions on access to sensitive online content for minors, the new rules have resulted in a spike in VPN usage – enabling internet users to essentially bypass the new regulations – and raised security concerns from decentralised ID verification platforms.
