Apple is contesting a British government directive for the iPhone manufacturer to grant alleged backdoor access to its encrypted cloud storage system, a U.K. court verified on Monday.
When it turned down a request by Britain’s Home Office to have the matter considered in private, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal exposed the legal conflict.
Apple said in February that, following the government allegedly requested it, it will cease providing its end-to-end encryption function for British consumers, thereby raising concerns of electronic espionage by national security authorities.
Later reports in British media, citing unidentified sources, said Apple was contesting the ruling; neither the British government nor the corporation had addressed the conflict.
The tribunal rejected the Home Office’s claim that the case should be kept confidential, stating that “bare details” like the case’s existence and the identities of the parties concerned could be revealed.
Two justices stated, based on a summary of the verdict released online, “We do not accept that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security.”
British media companies and civil rights groups have urged the panel not to keep the case behind closed doors.
Apple refused to respond and instead questions to a prior statement claiming it was removing its security choice for United Kingdom consumers.
Available since 2022, the function secures iCloud files, photographs, notes, and other data with end-to-end encryption while they’re saved in the cloud, users must opt in to utilize.
Citing unnamed sources, the Washington Post said British security authorities had given the U.S. tech behemoth a covert order mandating the development of so-called backdoor access to see totally encrypted content.
The report said the British government gave Apple a “technical capability notice” directing them to grant access under a broad statute known as the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which has been referred to as the Snoopers’ Charter.
In a statement, the Home Office said it did not discuss legal matters. “We also do not comment on operational issues such as verifying or denying the presence of particular notifications.”
U.S. officials have taken notice of the conflict. Writing to congressional members, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard expressed grave worry about demand as it would infringe Americans’ rights and create questions about a foreign government pressing a U.S.-based technological firm.