US lawmakers want UK briefing on backdoor order to Apple

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast on Wednesday asked the British government to brief them on its order to Apple AAPL.O to create a back door to its encrypted user data so they could better understand the British move.

The two lawmakers last year warned that such an order could allow encrypted user data to be exploited by cyber criminals and authoritarian governments. Britain subsequently dropped its demand, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in August.

Jordan and Mast, who have previously criticised European Union actions against Big Tech, said the public should be informed of the facts of the case. Britain left the EU in 2020.

"For there to be a 'mature and informed public debate,' it is imperative that the Committees fully understand the actions taken by the UK government with respect to the TCN issued to Apple," they wrote in a joint letter dated Wednesday to British interior minister Shabana Mahmood, seen by Reuters.

"We respectfully ask that the Home Office and UK Embassy to the United States arrange for the briefing to occur as soon as possible but no later than 10:00 a.m. ET on March 11, 2026," they said.

TCN refers to a technical capability notice issued by the British government to Apple.

Apple, which has said it would never build such access into its encrypted services or devices, had challenged the order at the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal.