Apple said Friday it will stop offering an advanced data security option for British users after the government reportedly demanded that the company provide backdoor access for any data those users have stored in the cloud.

Security officials argue that encryption hinders criminal investigations, while tech firms defend it as essential to user privacy.

Apple Inc. is removing its most advanced encrypted security feature for cloud data in the UK, a stunning development that follows the government ordering the company to build a backdoor for accessing user data.