The United Kingdom has agreed to withdraw a legal notice that would have required Apple Inc. to create a "back door" giving British authorities access to the encrypted iCloud data of U.S. citizens, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on 19 August. The move came after months of negotiations led by Gabbard and involving President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Britain’s demand, issued in January under the Investigatory Powers Act, had drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers and prompted a review of whether it violated the CLOUD Act, a bilateral agreement that bars either country from unilaterally compelling access to the other’s citizens’ data. Apple responded in February by suspending its Advanced Data Protection service for U.K. customers and filing a challenge at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, with hearings scheduled for early 2026. A U.K. Home Office spokesperson declined to confirm the agreement but said London would “take all actions necessary” to keep citizens safe while safeguarding privacy. Apple has not commented. Security lawyers said the reversal removes a major diplomatic irritant and could clear the way for Apple to restore full end-to-end encryption features for British users, although any revised request from London may still be tested in court. The outcome marks the highest-profile retreat by a Western government on encryption since the 2016 U.S. dispute over an iPhone linked to a terrorism investigation, underscoring the growing influence of cross-border privacy constraints on national security policy.