Apple has filed a legal complaint against the UK government over demands to create a ‘back door’ in its cloud storage system. The company has appealed to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, challenging a secret order issued under the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act.
The tribune will determine the legality of the UK’s demand, which was issued in January as a ‘technical capability notice’ (TCN). According to the Financial Times, this order targeted Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, an optional encryption layer for iCloud backups.
Apple responded by withdrawing ADP from the UK rather than complying with the request.
Despite this move, UK authorities insist that Apple has not met its obligation under the order, which could also impact users outside the UK. The government argues that accessing encrypted data is essential for combating serious crimes such as terrorism and child exploitation. However, cybersecurity experts warn that weakening encryption exposes users to fraud, identity theft, and other threats.
The UK’s demand has sparked international criticism. For instance, US President Donald Trump likened it to surveillance tactics used by China. At the same time, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard condemned it as an “egregious violation” of privacy that could breach US-UK data-sharing agreements.
Meanwhile, the Home Office spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the existence of the order but reiterated that the UK aims to balance security and privacy.
The Global Encryption Coalition had requested the UK government to rethink its decision as there is no method to grant government access to encrypted data without compromising the encryption. They also warned that such measures would introduce systemic security flaws, leaving users vulnerable to cyberattacks and eroding trust in digital devices.
Furthermore, such actions will compel other firms to ignore the UK market and damage the country’s reputation as a democracy.
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