Apple Dropped iCloud Encryption After FBI Complained

Tech giant Apple has dropped plans to let iPhone users fully encrypt backups of their devices in the company’s iCloud service after the FBI complained that the move would harm investigations.

Reuters reports while Apples reversal, about two years ago, has not previously been reported, it shows how much the company has been willing to help U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The battle between investigators’ concerns about security and tech companies’ desire for user privacy has moved back into the public spotlight last week.

This comes after U.S. Attorney General William Barr took the rare step of publicly calling on Apple to unlock two iPhones used by a Saudi Air Force officer who shot dead three Americans at a Pensacola, Florida naval base last month.

Apple did in fact did turn over the shooter’s iCloud backups in the Pensacola case, and said it rejected the characterization that it “has not provided substantive assistance.”