Trump likens UK's Apple data request to chinese monitoring practices

U.S. President Donald Trump has compared the UK government's demand for access to certain Apple user data to practices typically associated with China, in his first magazine interview of his second term with The Spectator.

The two leaders met at the White House on Thursday for discussions covering Ukraine and the negotiation of a bilateral trade agreement. “We actually told him … that's incredible. That's something, you know, that you hear about with China,” Trump said, emphasizing that the approach resembled what is often seen in Chinese monitoring.

A spokesperson for the British government responded that “we have a close intelligence relationship with the U.S. and we take the partnership seriously,” but declined to comment on the specifics of the Apple case. Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

This development follows last week’s move by Apple to end an advanced security encryption feature for cloud data used by UK customers—a decision widely interpreted as a response to government demands for greater access to user data. Meanwhile, Britain's Home Office had previously declined to confirm whether such an order had been formally issued.

In a related action, Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, indicated in a letter to two U.S. lawmakers dated February 25 that American officials are examining whether the UK government's request might violate the CLOUD Act, which restricts cross-border data demands involving U.S. citizens.

The interview with The Spectator—an influential publication in Conservative circles that was once led by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and was acquired last year by British hedge fund founder Paul Marshall—adds another dimension to the ongoing debate over data privacy and international surveillance practices.

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