• The UK government ordered Apple to create a “back door” into its most secure cloud storage, citing national security and crime prevention.
  • The US, especially Vice President JD Vance and President Trump, strongly opposes this, seeing it as a threat to free speech and privacy, and a risk to tech partnerships.
  • Apple withdrew its secure service from the UK and is legally challenging the order, with WhatsApp joining the fight.
  • The UK’s stance is jeopardizing tech and data agreements with the US and complicating future AI regulation.
  • UK officials admit the Home Office mishandled the issue and will likely have to retreat to avoid damaging relations with Washington.