The US and UK have entered into bilateral agreement called the Cloud Act that, Gabbard said, prohibits the UK from issuing demands for data of US residents or any persons located inside the country.
In a letter to British lawmakers on Wednesday, she wrote that the UK government’s order for Apple to create a “backdoor” to iCloud users’ accounts is a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties”.
Gabbard’s letter comes after the US senator Ron Wyden and the representative Andy Biggs sent her a letter on 13 February with their concerns about what such a demand would mean for US residents’ online safety and privacy.
News of the UK government’s order first surfaced earlier this month when the Washington Post reported that the Home Office had issued a “technical capability notice” under the Investigatory Powers Act, which requires companies to help British law enforcement uncover evidence in investigations.
Gabbard echoed their worries, saying that the order would “open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors” and could violate a bilateral agreement between the US and the UK.
