Apple challenges UK government’s latest demand for iCloud backdoor: report
Apple is legally challenging a secret U.K. government order that demands access to encrypted iCloud backups. The company argues that complying would require creating a backdoor that compromises user privacy and end-to-end encryption.
Why it matters
This case represents a significant ongoing conflict between national security surveillance requirements and the implementation of robust consumer data privacy protections.
Apple is challenging another legal demand by the U.K. government to access the encrypted data of its users in the country, according to the Financial Times .
The company reportedly filed a complaint with the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a court that hears cases related to government surveillance, after the government last year issued a “technical capability notice” . The notice is a secret government legal order for demanding access to users’ data, even if the data is encrypted.
For critics, this kind of demand is the equivalent of requesting a backdoor into Apple’s cloud backups that have Advanced Data Protection (ADP) switched on, which makes the data end-to-end encrypted and inaccessible to anyone other than the customer, including to Apple.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in