The notice, which neither Apple nor the Home Office has ever confirmed, enraged privacy campaigners, who are now cautiously optimistic about the news.
“If true, this decision is hugely welcome,” said Sam Grant from civil rights group Liberty, which along with Privacy International previously launched separate legal action against the UK government.
He told the BBC the creation of a back door to citizens’ private data would be a “reckless and potentially unlawful move from the government”.
“This would present a huge threat to our personal and national security, especially as we know it’d leave politicians, campaigners and minority groups especially at risk of being targeted,” he said.
“As long as this power exists within the Investigatory Powers Act, it remains a risk that any future government might also try to use it to create a back door into other end-to-end encrypted services we all use.”
There is already a legal agreement between the US and UK governments – the Data Access Agreement – which allows both countries to share data for law enforcement purposes.