# Government encryption back-door demands

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Government encryption back-door demands," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/encryption-backdoor-demands/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of state pressure on technology companies for access to encrypted systems — the British government's demand for a back door into Apple's operating system, which he says Apple met with a threat to leave the United Kingdom, and his prediction that the second Trump administration would make the same demand of any new platform under a counterterrorism pretext.*

- **Case cited:** United Kingdom vs Apple, early 2025
- **Apple's position (per Kiriakou):** Willing to shut down in the UK rather than provide access
- **Predicted next demand:** Second Trump administration, framed as counterterrorism
- **Officials named:** Kash Patel (FBI), [John Ratcliffe](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-ratcliffe) (CIA)

[John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) describes the British government as *"practically at war with Apple"* in early 2025 over its demand for a back door into the company's operating system, and says Apple's answer was that it would rather shut down in the United Kingdom than give British intelligence access.[1]

He treats the episode as a template rather than an exception, and predicted the same demand would be made of any successful new platform under the second [Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump) administration. Asked what happens when that administration comes knocking, he scripted the meeting: *"can you imagine a White House meeting where Kash Patel, the new FBI director, or John Ratcliffe, the new CIA director, go to Trump and say, 'Mr President, you know, terrorism, another 9/11 — so we need these back doors'?"* His answer to his own question is that Trump *"is not going to say 'oh no no no, I believe in transparency, I believe in freedom of speech, I'm not giving you any back doors that might save American lives' … he's going to give them what they want, just like every single president before him gave them what they wanted."*[2][3]

He extends the same scepticism to the administration's free-speech executive orders, which he says will not lead to more transparency: *"it's all about lawfare, it's all about going after your enemies."*[4] The countermeasure he identifies for a platform is jurisdictional — being registered in Iceland with staff distributed across every time zone means not dealing directly with the American or British governments or any of the Five Eyes.[5]

## See also

- [Panquake](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/panquake)
- [John Ratcliffe](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-ratcliffe)
- [Donald Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump)
- [NSA Surveillance](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/nsa-surveillance)
- [Purchased data as a warrant workaround](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/purchased-data-warrant-workaround)

## Sources

1. Where the Hell Is Panquake? Surveillance & The Technocratic (2025-03-01), at 34:23. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8u-MbN9jA&t=2063s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-03-01-truthwire-where-the-hell-is-panquake-surveillance-the-t/
2. Where the Hell Is Panquake? Surveillance & The Technocratic (2025-03-01), at 42:19. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8u-MbN9jA&t=2539s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-03-01-truthwire-where-the-hell-is-panquake-surveillance-the-t/
3. Where the Hell Is Panquake? Surveillance & The Technocratic (2025-03-01), at 42:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8u-MbN9jA&t=2570s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-03-01-truthwire-where-the-hell-is-panquake-surveillance-the-t/
4. Where the Hell Is Panquake? Surveillance & The Technocratic (2025-03-01), at 41:48. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8u-MbN9jA&t=2508s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-03-01-truthwire-where-the-hell-is-panquake-surveillance-the-t/
5. Where the Hell Is Panquake? Surveillance & The Technocratic (2025-03-01), at 41:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M8u-MbN9jA&t=2478s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-03-01-truthwire-where-the-hell-is-panquake-surveillance-the-t/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/encryption-backdoor-demands/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt