U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the UK government’s demand for Apple to grant access to user data, comparing it to practices associated with China. In an interview with The Spectator political magazine, Trump revealed that he had told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “You can’t do this,” during their recent meeting at the White House.
The two leaders met to discuss Ukraine and negotiate a bilateral trade agreement. Trump expressed his concerns about the data access request, saying, “That’s incredible. That’s something you hear about with China.”
A spokesperson for the British government responded by emphasizing the close intelligence relationship with the U.S. but refrained from commenting on the specifics of the Apple case. Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Last week, Apple ended a new security encryption feature for cloud data for UK users, responding to government demands for access to user data. The British Home Office has declined to comment on whether such an order had been issued.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard informed two U.S. lawmakers in a letter that the U.S. is looking into whether the UK government violated the CLOUD Act. This law prohibits demands for data of U.S. citizens and vice versa.
The Spectator, which published the interview, is known for its influence in Conservative circles and was previously edited by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British hedge fund founder Paul Marshall bought the magazine last year.
More here.