British officials have held private talks with their US counterparts in an attempt to resolve concerns that the UK is trying to force Apple Inc. to build a backdoor into Americans’ encrypted data, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple is challenging the order, with a closed-door hearing set for Friday at London's High Court. U.K. officials insist data requests would be limited to serious crimes like terrorism and child exploitation, requiring separate warrants and primarily targeting U.K. individuals, not U.S. citizens.

(Reuters) -British officials held private talks with their U.S. counterparts to resolve concerns that UK is trying to force Apple to build a backdoor into Americans' encrypted data, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday,

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are coming to Apple's defense over the UK government's attempts to get backdoor access to users' iCloud data, demanding that the UK remove the cloak of secrecy surrounding the order.

Two human rights groups have filed a legal complaint with the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in an attempt to quash the

The Guardian reports Apple has a secret appeal hearing tomorrow against the UK government’s demand for a backdoor to encrypted iCloud backups. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal lists a private hearing in its schedule.