Google denies receiving TCN demanding access to encrypted data

Clarifying its position to The Washington Post on Tuesday, Google has denied receiving a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), requiring the company to create a backdoor into its encrypted messages and data, similar to the demand issued to Apple, which was first reported by the Post in February. 

The statement followed renewed scrutiny stemming from a letter sent by US Senator Ron Wyden to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, calling for an urgent assessment of the UK's surveillance practices.

Senator Wyden's letter claimed Google had not definitively answered whether it received "backdoor" access demands from the UK, noting this mirrored Apple's previous response, implying Apple had received such a request. In contrast, Wyden stated that Meta had unequivocally denied receiving any backdoor requests from the UK.

However, Google spokesman Karl Ryan clarified that the company has "not received a Technical Capabilities Notice," and confirmed, "We have never built any mechanism or 'backdoor' to circumvent end-to-end encryption in our product. If we say a product is end-to-end encrypted, it is."