Apple defies UK government’s ‘backdoor’ order by removing cloud data encryption

Apple is removing its most advanced, end-to-end encrypted security feature for cloud data in the United Kingdom, in a stunning development after the government ordered the company to build a backdoor for accessing user data.

The company said Friday that Advanced Data Protection, an optional feature that adds end-to-end encryption — a stronger form of security — to a wide assortment of user data is no longer available in the UK for new users. This layer of security covers iCloud data storage, device backups, web bookmarks, voice memos, notes,…