The UK is backing down from its demand for Apple to create a backdoor to its end-to-end encryption, according to the US director of National Intelligence.

Tulsi Gabbard in a post on X said that she had been working with the UK in discussions regarding data privacy and the “constitutional rights” of Americans.

Since the back door push from the UK was exposed, US officials have come out in hard opposition to the push on the American tech company.

Gabbard said that “the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties.”

Earlier this year, the Home Office allegedly issued an order to Apple to create a back door to its encrypted data, specifically to its Advanced Data Protection tool used on cloud data by Apple device users.

Apple has since refused to abide by the order, and instead has opted to remove the ADP tool from UK users rather than create a backdoor.

Apple has also taken legal action against the demands made by the Home Office, with backing from other tech giants and US government officials.

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Since the social media post from Gabbard, a UK government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of such notices,” as reported by the BBC.

The demand from the UK government would have required Apple to break its own encryption methods, which prevents anyone other than the individual users from seeing encrypted data, even Apple itself. Breaking encryption would dismantle the point of the privacy-ensuring tool.

The order was issued under the Investigatory Powers Act, which affords the government a level of secrecy and restricts the publication of the order by targeted companies. Therefore, it is currently uncertain if other tech companies have received a similar order.