The United States Congress is investigating the UK’s use of secret Technical Capability Notices (TCNs) under the Investigatory Powers Act, which effectively compel American tech companies to weaken encryption or build backdoors into their products. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast are leading the investigation.
What the UK demanded from Apple
In February 2025, the UK Home Office issued a TCN to Apple demanding access to end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups globally. Not just for UK users. Globally. The target was Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, which encrypts iCloud data so thoroughly that even Apple itself cannot access it.
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 gives UK authorities the power to issue these notices with stringent secrecy directives. Recipients cannot publicly disclose that they’ve received one, creating what amounts to a government-imposed gag order on some of the world’s largest technology companies.
Apple’s response was notable for what it did rather than what it said. The company withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users entirely. Rather than build a backdoor that could be exploited by anyone who found it, Apple chose to remove the security feature altogether for an entire country’s worth of customers. The company is reportedly appealing parts of the TCN.
