Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been ordered by U.K. security officials to create a back door’ allowing access to all cloud-stored content from its users worldwide, The Washington Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The U.S. tech giant is reportedly considering halting encrypted cloud storage in the U.K. rather than compromising its global security commitments. The order, issued as a technical capability notice by the U.K. Home Secretary’s office, mandates Apple to provide access to user data.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Home Office, when asked by Reuters, declined to confirm or deny the existence of such an order, stating, We do not comment on operational matters. Separately, last month, the U.K.’s antitrust regulator launched an investigation into Apple and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to assess whether they hold strategic market status in mobile ecosystem services.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
