“UK Government’s secret Apple data access order challenged by Privacy International and Liberty”, 13 March 2025

Privacy International, Liberty and two individuals, Gus Hosein and Ben Wizner, are challenging the Home Secretary’s apparent decision to use her powers to secretly force Apple to give the UK Government access to users’ secured data stored on iCloud…

The groups say that the move from the UK government will have ‘global consequences’, opening up a back door to billions of people’s personal data, including personal messages and documents, that could be accessed by hackers and oppressive governments. Liberty and Privacy International warn this would particularly impact marginalised groups, such as political dissidents and religious and LGBT+ communities, who could be targeted or put under surveillance…

They have asked for their complaints to be joined to the complaint understood to have been made by Apple…

The TCN, apparently issued under section 253 of the IPA, requires Apple to remove or modify certain protections from material stored by Apple users on an advanced encrypted version of its cloud service, iCloud, giving the UK Government back-door access to the encryption that protects that data.

Seemingly rather than comply with the TCN, Apple has removed the Advanced Data Protection (ADP) encryption for UK users…

Privacy International and Liberty are also challenging the TCN process, where the relevant notices are issued secretly, including on the basis that this breaches privacy and free expression rights….

If reports about the TCN are correct, this may be the first time a major democracy has ordered a technology company to deliberately weaken an end-to-end encrypted service…

Privacy International and Liberty say giving users control of who can access their data is crucial, particularly for those whose jobs, beliefs or characteristics require enhanced security. Journalists, researchers, lawyers, civil society, and human rights defenders rely on encryption because it protects them and their sources, clients and partners, from surveillance, harassment and oppression…