In an unprecedented step, Apple caved to a reported U.K. government’s demand to prevent users from using end-to-end encryption in iCloud.

Security officials argue that encryption hinders criminal investigations, while tech firms defend it as essential to user privacy.

In a dispute over a "backdoor" demand from the British government, Apple has decided to pull its advanced data protection from the British market. The security feature encrypts iCloud data with end-to-end protection.