Apple has reportedly been issued with an order by the UK government demanding it undermines its own encryption safeguards in its iCloud service.
The tech giant has been served with a “technical capability notice” under legislation that prohibits it from disclosing the request, which is designed to enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies’ access to encrypted data.
Although Apple can challenge the ruling, the law does not allow it to delay implementing the order.
Following a clash between US tech firms and the Australian government over plans to impose laws forcing the local operations of platforms such as Facebook and Google to pay for news content, critics have warned that nations are becoming increasingly willing to challenge the tech sector over a range of issues.
Some have claimed that the latest setback for Apple could be the “first of many”.