Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

The Washington Post reported Friday that the United Kingdom's deep state has demanded that Apple create a back door for them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud—what would be an unprecedented erosion of online privacy and civil liberties.

Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that the British government's undisclosed order was issued last month. It reportedly requires Apple to give officials blanket capability to view fully encrypted material.

Typically, Apple has assisted authorities on a case-by-case basis—such as helping the FBI access a terrorist's phone, for example. The Post noted that the access sought by the UK "has no known precedent in major democracies."