Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK after the government demanded backdoor access to user data worldwide. The demand was called an “unprecedented attack” on privacy by security experts.

BBC News reports that Apple has decided to disable its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for users in the UK. The decision comes on the heels of a demand from the UK government for access to user data stored on Apple’s iCloud service. ADP provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only account holders can view their stored photos, documents, and other sensitive information.

Earlier this month, the UK government invoked the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) to compel Apple to provide access to user data. The tech giant has consistently opposed creating a “backdoor” in its encryption service, arguing that doing so would compromise the security of all users. Despite this stance, Apple has now chosen to remove the option for UK customers to activate ADP.

As of Friday, any Apple user in the UK attempting to enable the feature is met with an error message. Existing ADP users will have their access disabled at a later date. The number of affected customers remains unknown, as ADP was only made available to British Apple users in December 2022.

Professor Alan Woodward, a cyber-security expert at Surrey University, described the development as “very disappointing” and an “act of self-harm” by the government. He stated, “All the UK government has achieved is to weaken online security and privacy for UK based users. It was naïve of the UK government to think they could tell a US technology company what to do globally.”

The move has also drawn criticism from privacy campaigners, who have called it an “unprecedented attack” on individuals’ private data. In the United States, two senior politicians have suggested that the threat to American national security is so severe that the US government should re-evaluate its intelligence-sharing agreements with the UK unless the demand is withdrawn.

Apple expressed its disappointment in a statement, saying, “Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end-encryption is more urgent than ever before. Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in future in the UK.”

The row comes amidst growing pushback from the U.S. against regulations imposed on its tech sector by other countries. In a recent speech, U.S. Vice President JD Vance made it clear that the U.S. is increasingly concerned about foreign governments “tightening the screws” on U.S. tech companies with international footprints.

Read more at BBC News here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.