UK Seeks Broad Global Access to Apple iCloud Data, Court Filings Show

New court filings reveal that the UK government’s secret demand for Apple to create backdoor access to encrypted user data was far broader than previously known, seeking access not only to UK users' data but globally to all iCloud users, including messages, mail, and passwords. Despite earlier claims by U.S. officials that the UK agreed to drop the requests following pressure from U.S. intelligence and vice president JD Vance, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal documents indicate that the UK Home Office has yet to formally modify or rescind its global data access demands. Apple responded by disabling its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for UK users and initiated a legal challenge against the UK’s Technical Capability Notice (TCN), which demands Apple maintain the capability to disclose various categories of data stored in its cloud-based backup service. The case, set for a court hearing in early 2026, marks a significant encryption battle and raises political tensions between the UK and U.S., given the demands affect private customer data beyond the UK. The UK government’s order is backed by the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, allowing broad surveillance powers, including over non-British citizens’ communications data relevant to national security or serious crimes. This ongoing legal and diplomatic dispute highlights the challenges between government surveillance interests and tech companies’ commitments to user privacy and encryption.