Apple CEO Tim Cook will give his thumbs up during a tour of Apple headquarters in London, England on December 12, 2024.
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apple It won the UK government’s efforts to keep details of the order to create a “backdoor” on iPhone users’ data secret.
The UK Court of Investigation released an ruling on Monday dismissing the government’s attempt to prevent details from hearings on appeal. The government tried to keep the information secret for reasons that it took risks to national security.
In their ruling, judges Rabinder Singh and Jeremy Johnson said that the UK government’s request to make the hearing details private is “the most fundamental interference with the principles of public justice.”
“It would have been a truly extraordinary step to do it secretly and secretly without the official revelation of the fact that the hearing is taking place,” they said.
The UK Department of Interior could not immediately comment when contacted by CNBC.
“Backdoor” to encrypted data
The ruling relates to Apple’s appeal against a request from the UK government to allow Apple to access encrypted data for iPhone users via a technical “backdoor.”
This backdoor allows the government to access information protected by Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system. This applies end-to-end encryption to a wide range of iCloud data.
Governments in the US, UK and EU have long expressed their dissatisfaction with end-to-end encryption, claiming that criminals, terrorists and sex offenders can hide their illegal activities.
In the UK, the 2016 Research Powers Act forces the government to force tech companies to undermine cryptographic technology through what is called “background.”
Known for its Pro-Privacy stance, Apple has pushed back efforts to weaken encryption tools, saying this will undermine security and put users at risk.
As a result of a government order, Apple retracted its ADP system for UK users in February. In a blog post at the time, Tech Giant said, “We have never built a backdoor or master key for any of our products or services, and will never do that.”
“We are extremely disappointed that UK customers will no longer have the option to enable Advanced Data Protection (ADP), especially given the continued rise in data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,” Apple said in a post.
“Apple remains committed to providing users with the highest level of security of personal data and we hope to be able to do so in the UK in the future.”
