Apple has filed a court appeal to overturn an order issued by the UK government that demanded sweeping access to users’ encrypted cloud data and prompted criticism from several quarters.
The iPhone-maker’s appeal was filed before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent court empowered to probe allegations against the UK’s Security Service, according to a report by Financial Times.
It is the latest development in a tussle between Apple and the UK government’s Home Office, which reportedly issued a secret order in January this year, requiring the tech giant to offer the country’s law enforcement blanket access to Apple’s cloud data in the event of a potential national security threat.
User data that is stored on iCloud and has been end-to-end encrypted via Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, is not accessible to the company as well. Hence, Apple decided to disable the ADP feature for users in the UK instead of creating a backdoor to encryption and complying with the government notice.
The removal of ADP in the UK means that Apple can, in certain cases, access user data and hand it over to authorities if legally compelled. The company has said that it would never compromise its security features and it was disappointed at having to take the action in the UK.
The data privacy row has also sparked anger from US President Donald Trump who compared the UK government’s order to “something that you hear about with China”.
“The UK has robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and privacy is only impacted on an exceptional basis, in relation to the most serious crimes and only when it is necessary and proportionate to do so,” a UK government spokesperson was quoted as saying by BBC.
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“More broadly, the UK has a longstanding position of protecting our citizens from the very worst crimes, such as child sex abuse and terrorism, at the same time as protecting people’s privacy,” they added.
Apple’s appeal in the tribunal case is expected to be heard in the coming weeks, as per the FT report.