U.K. Government Can't Keep Effort to Obtain Encrypted Apple Data Secret, Court Rules
The U.K. Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) ruled Monday that disclosure of the "bare details" of a dispute over British government access to Apple's encrypted Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system won't harm the public or prejudice national security.
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In addition, the tribunal said it would hear a challenge by Liberty and Privacy International that the Home Secretary's decision to allegedly force Apple under a Technical Capability Notice (TPN) to give the government access to users' encrypted data stored on iCloud creates a "backdoor" to billions of people's data, the organizations said. They warned that this would particularly affect marginalized groups such as political dissidents, religious communities and LGBTQ+ individuals who could face targeting or surveillance.
The organizations said it appears that, rather than comply with the disclosure order, Apple removed ADP encryption for U.K. users.
The Home Office doesn't comment on legal proceedings or operational matters, a spokesperson emailed. The government has "made clear that those targeted investigatory powers alongside strong judicial safeguards must be sustained as technology changes." In addition, TPNs issued under the Investigatory Powers Act don't directly provide access to data because warrants and authorizations must also be in place, the spokesperson said.