Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Apple has launched a new legal challenge against the UK’s latest attempt to create a “backdoor” to access encrypted customer data, a year after the Home Office agreed to drop a previous order after a row with Washington.
The iPhone maker last month launched a new legal complaint at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal over the UK government’s demand that Apple allow it access to encrypted cloud backups of data belonging to British users, according to an order issued by the court.
The UK retreated from its original demand for a backdoor that allowed access to data from UK and US customers last year, ending a diplomatic battle between London and Washington.
But UK authorities subsequently issued a new “technical capability notice” to Apple that did not apply to American users, the FT reported in October.
TCNs are issued under the UK Investigatory Powers Act, which the government maintains is needed by law enforcement to investigate terrorism and child sexual abuse. They can force companies to provide the UK security services with access to customer data, even if such information is protected by secure encryption.
Apple is seeking to challenge the UK government’s powers to issue such legal notices.
The court sent an order giving notice of the new Apple complaint to Privacy International. The human rights group, alongside fellow campaigner Liberty, had previously launched a separate complaint against TCNs at the IPT.
A case management hearing to discuss how the parallel complaints should be handled has been scheduled for next month, Privacy International told the FT.
Neither Apple nor the Home Office responded to requests for comment. Both Apple and the Home Office are legally restricted from discussing TCNs.
Apple has consistently argued any such backdoor would make its systems less secure for all its customers.
Recommended
The Home Office has maintained that the Investigatory Powers Act, under which such orders are issued, contains robust safeguards and is only used when absolutely necessary. Privacy and security are not “at odds” in such cases, it has said.
Apple withdrew UK customers’ access to its iCloud Advanced Data Protection system in January 2025 after it received the original TCN. ADP offers an optional layer of extra security for iCloud users, with customer data stored using end-to-end encryption so that even Apple is unable to access it.
The UK notice demanded that the company enable law enforcement to tap these iPhone backups.
At the time, the Home Office’s move ignited the biggest clash over encryption in almost a decade and provoked a furious response from Washington. US President Donald Trump likened the UK order to “something . . . that you hear about with China”.
Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London
Source:
www.ft.com
