Apple has reportedly been ordered by the U.K. government to create a backdoor giving security officials access to encrypted backups. Will Apple go along with it?

The U.K. rule essentially demands that all data that Apple stores for its cloud services be retrievable not just by Apple, but by the U.K. government—no longer requiring a legal process to request that Apple provide targeted data—and for this to apply to every Apple user in the world.

Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create a back door allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud.

Britain has ordered Apple to give it unprecedentedly broad access to encrypted user data stored on Apple's data cloud, the Washington Post newspaper reported on Friday.

The UK government has demanded to be able to access encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide in its cloud service. Currently only the Apple account holder can access data stored in this way - the tech giant itself cannot view it.

Britain demands Apple provide extensive access to encrypted user data, raising privacy concerns. The request, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, seeks blanket access rather than specific accounts.