Gabbard: UK demand to Apple for backdoor access is 'grave concern' to US
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has told U.S. lawmakers she ordered a legal review of the U.K. government’s secret directive to Apple for a backdoor that could give British authorities access to encrypted data belonging to Americans.
Gabbard sent Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) a letter on Tuesday saying that the United Kingdom did not brief her on the request and that she didn’t know about the development until the Washington Post reported the demand earlier this month.
The report prompted an instant backlash against the U.K.’s order. On February 21, Apple yanked its premiere data protection tool from the British market rather than comply.
“I share your grave concern about the serious implications of the United Kingdom, or any foreign country, requiring Apple or any company to create a ‘backdoor’ that would allow access to Americans’ personal encrypted data,” Gabbard wrote in response to a February 13 missive from the senators.
In that letter, Wyden and Biggs asked Gabbard to consider curtailing the U.S.’s extensive intelligence sharing and cybersecurity partnerships with Britain if the country does not rescind its order.
Complying with Britain’s demands would be a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, and open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors,” Gabbard wrote in response.
Gabbard told the senators that she has asked officials at several U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share insights on the situation and will engage with the British government after receiving their feedback.
The bilateral Cloud Act Agreement says Britain cannot demand data belonging to U.S. citizens, and the agreement appears to apply to the U.K.’s Apple order, she said, an initial review shows.
“Any information sharing between a government — any government — and private companies
must be done in a manner that respects and protects the U.S. law and the Constitutional
rights of U.S. citizens,” she said.
Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering privacy, disinformation and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop and Reuters. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.