Previously they required a subpoena, now they require a court order. So what was the lie?
A subpoena is a court order. Nothing has changed and they market that as an improvement.
An order issued under the authority of a court, commanding a person to appear in court on a particular date, usually to give testimony in a legal case. A writ requiring someone to appear
https://www.wordnik.com/words/subpoena
A subpoena is a kind of court order. Specifically it is an order to a particular person to appear and testify at a particular time and place. In many but not all cases, the order also requires that person to bring specified records or documents along. That is known as a subpoena duces tecum. In some cases this is used to, order the production of documents without any accompanying testimony.
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Ther are many other court orders, such as an injunction which is generally an order not to do something. Different jurisdictions may use different terms for orders with similar effects. The exact name and exact effect of a given order will vary with the jurisdiction, which is not stated in the question at the moment. The needed process to obtain a court order will also vary. Without a jurisdiction, a more specific answer cannot be given.
If anything, they have even broadened the scope of documents they now accept for information disclosure requests.
From the orginal linked reporting, it appears that previously Apple would accept a subpoena subpoena issued by police departments and law enforcement agencies with no judicial oversight. Under the new policy there has to be a court order or a search warrant, both of which have to be approved by a judge.
This feels like a tightening to me. https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/13/apple-push-notifications-government-warrant/
