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   Google confirms the UK has not asked it to weaken encryption with a backdoor   
   unlike Apple   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:26:52 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Google has just confirmed that the UK hasn't asked it to weaken its    
   end-to-end encryption by installing a backdoor. Apple wasn't so lucky, though.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Google has just admitted that the UK government hasn't requested access to   
   end-to-end encrypted user data.    
      
   Meanwhile, Apple has been hit by a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) under    
   the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), forcing it to shutter its iCloud   
   Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK as a result.    
      
   The backlash that followed the UK's request for access to end-to-end    
   encrypted data from Apple echoed throughout the rest of the world. It now   
   turns out that the request may have been more targeted than it first seemed,   
   with Google seemingly immune to it for now.   
      
   "We haven't received a technical capabilities notice"   
      
   In February this year, the UK authorities requested that Apple break its   
   end-to-end encryption policies in the Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature.   
   ADP isn't on by default, but when enabled, it adds an extra layer of    
   security. Not even Apple itself can access the data that's been encrypted in   
   this way; it's completely private.    
      
   Unsurprisingly, the order was not met with a warm reception. Mounting    
   scrutiny of the UK's Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) led US senators to   
   investigate whether other companies have also received similar requests.    
      
   According to TechCrunch , Google refused to answer questions about any   
   involvement from the UK government when prompted by US Senator Roy Wyden.   
   Companies that are subject to government surveillance orders are unable to   
   disclose them under UK law.    
      
   However, Wyden disclosed that at least one technology giant confirmed that it   
   hasn't received such a notice. That turned out to be Meta, which told Wyden's   
   office back in March that it hadn't been served an order to backdoor its   
   encryption services.    
      
   Although Google remained silent, it appears to have broken that vow of    
   silence in a statement to TechCrunch. Karl Ryan, Google spokesperson, said:   
   "We haven't received a technical capabilities notice."    
      
   That's as good a confirmation as we're going to get in this situation. If   
   Google had received such a notice, it would imply that the UK government was   
   surveying whether a backdoor could be added to its end-to-end encryption or   
   not.    
      
   Ryan also told TechCrunch: "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." The UK government might still back down    
      
   When asked to build a backdoor in its ADP service, Apple instead chose to    
   turn off the feature for users in the UK, leaving them without access to   
   additional data protection.    
      
   Although using one of the best VPN services can help boost Brits online   
   privacy, it's certainly not going to replace iClouds end-to-end encryption   
   protection that users in other countries are able to benefit from.    
      
   The order was widely criticized worldwide, with US lawmakers warning against   
   "systemic vulnerabilities ." Meanwhile, Apple decided to challenge the    
   request in Court .    
      
   More recently, two senior British officials disclosed that the UK government   
   might have to give up on pursuing encryption backdoors due to pushback from   
   the US government. "They don't want us messing with their tech companies,"   
   they said.    
      
   No matter where this case ultimately leads, the fact that Apple was involved,   
   but Google walked away unscathed, is an interesting development. Googles   
   hands-off status may offer reassurance that the UKs encryption demands arent   
   as sweeping as they first appeared -- at least not yet.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/google-confirms-the-uk-has-   
   not-asked-it-to-weaken-encryption-with-a-backdoor-unlike-apple   
      
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