EU watchdog attacks Britain over iPhone ‘backdoor’ demand

Apple, led by chief executive Tim Cook, said it would never build a back door and has removed the iCloud encryption option for British iPhone users - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A European tech watchdog has attacked the Government for demanding “backdoor” access to consumers’ iPhone data, piling pressure on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a fight with Apple.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), which monitors tech privacy, said British demands to break Apple’s encryption “would create systemic vulnerabilities and pose a risk to the integrity and confidentiality of electronic communications”.

In January, the Home Office demanded that Apple create a way to get around the end-to-end encryption in its iCloud storage system, sparking a dispute with the White House.

The “technical capability notice”, issued under surveillance legislation, would allow the police to access messages and photos stored in iCloud as part of criminal investigations.

The Government dropped the demand after interventions from Trump administration officials including Vice President JD Vance, but has since issued a new order related explicitly to the UK.

European officials have stayed quiet on the matter, but on Monday, the EDPB became the first EU body to raise objections.

It said the European Commission should take the Government’s demands into account when deciding whether to allow data transfers between Britain and the EU.

Joe Jones, of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, said: “It’s the first sign of something official from the EU that has expressed concern about this.”

A threat to privacy

The body, made up of the privacy regulators from the 27 EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, made the recommendation in response to an EU plan to extend a post-Brexit agreement allowing data to flow between the UK and Europe.

Without the agreement, businesses would face a mountain of extra paperwork when moving information between the UK and the continent.

The EDPB endorsed the proposal to extend the agreement to 2031, but said the EU should assess whether the iPhone backdoor demand was a threat to privacy.

Apple has said it would never build a back door and has removed the iCloud encryption option for British iPhone users. It is also challenging the notice at the secretive Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

The company has said it is “gravely disappointed” at the situation.

The Home Office was contacted for comment. It has previously said that it does not comment on operational matters, but that “we will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe”.

The EU has been caught in its own encryption row over plans to force messaging apps to scan private conversations for child abuse material.

The proposals were delayed earlier this month after disagreements between countries.

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