The United Kingdom has agreed to withdraw a mandate that would have forced Apple Inc. to build a “back door” giving authorities access to encrypted iCloud data belonging to American users, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement on 19 Aug. The decision ends a months-long dispute that pitted London’s security demands against Washington’s privacy concerns. According to Gabbard, the reversal followed negotiations involving herself, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. U.S. lawmakers had warned that the British order, issued in January under the Investigatory Powers Act, risked violating the CLOUD Act, which bars either country from unilaterally demanding data on the other’s citizens. Cyber-security experts also argued the proposed back door could be exploited by hackers once discovered. Apple challenged the secret notice at the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal and in February disabled its Advanced Data Protection end-to-end encryption option for users in Britain rather than weaken security. The company has not said whether it will restore the feature now that the order has been rescinded. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government declined to confirm the agreement but said the UK continues to work with the United States to balance public safety and privacy. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.