Hajra Naz
The U.K. government is reportedly stepping back from its earlier push for Apple to build a secret backdoor that would have given authorities worldwide access to customer data. The move comes after strong criticism from the U.S. government. However, now one U.S. senator is inquiring whether other tech giants—such as Google—have also faced similar secret demands from the U.K.
Google initially refused to answer the lawmaker’s questions. However, the company later told TechCrunch that it has not received any backdoor demand. This is the first time Google has confirmed it is not subject to such an order from the U.K.
Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the U.K. Home Office sought a secret court order requiring Apple to provide authorities with access to end-to-end encrypted cloud data from any customer worldwide, including iPhone and iPad backups. Apple designs its encryption so that only customers—not even Apple itself—can access the data stored on its servers.
Under U.K. law, companies hit with surveillance court orders are barred from disclosing them—even acknowledging the existence of such an order. Despite that, details of the Apple order leaked earlier this year. Critics slammed the demand as “draconian,” warning it would have global consequences for user privacy. Apple has since appealed the order’s legality.
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In a new letter to U.S. intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Ron Wyden—who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee—said that while tech firms cannot legally reveal if they’ve received a U.K. surveillance order, at least one company has confirmed it hasn’t.
Meta, the parent of Facebook and WhatsApp, told Wyden’s office in March that it has “not received an order to backdoor our encrypted services, like that reported about Apple.”
Google, by contrast, would not directly confirm to Wyden’s office whether it had received such an order related to encrypted data, like Android backups. The company only said that
“If it had received a technical capabilities notice, it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact.”
Later, Google spokesperson Karl Ryan clarified:
“We have never built any mechanism or ‘backdoor’ to circumvent end-to-end encryption in our products. If we say a product is end-to-end encrypted, it is.”
When pressed, Ryan confirmed: “We haven’t received a technical capabilities notice,” referring to a U.K. surveillance order.
Wyden’s letter, first reported by The Washington Post and later shared with TechCrunch, urged Gabbard to release an official assessment of the risks posed by the U.K.’s surveillance laws—and its reported secret demands on U.S. tech companies.
