UK secrecy over Apple data order 'farcical', tribunal told

A lawyer representing two civil rights groups told a London tribunal on Thursday that the British government's refusal to confirm whether it has ordered Apple to provide access to encrypted customer data has descended into farce.

At the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, Ben Jaffey, acting for Privacy International and Liberty, argued that the government's position was untenable because the matter is already widely known. He said the "horse has long bolted", pointing out that U.S. politicians and officials had publicly discussed the original notice, while unnamed UK government sources had confirmed it to the press.

Britain first issued a technical capability notice in January last year, seeking a means to access encrypted cloud backups belonging to both American and British citizens. That demand was withdrawn after months of negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. In July, however, a second notice was issued covering only Apple's UK customers.

The government maintains a policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of individual technical capability notices, citing security grounds. Its lawyer, Neil Sheldon, told the tribunal that departing from that stance would pose a national security risk and "would provide material assistance to hostile actors", who could piece together which operators are subject to such orders.

Apple has mounted its own challenge at the tribunal but has been unable to disclose its arguments publicly because of legal restrictions. Both the company's lawyer and Jaffey described the secrecy policy as an affront to open justice and a barrier to meaningful public discussion.

The company has said it would never build a back door into its systems, warning that creating an entry point for one government could be exploited by hackers or hostile states, weakening security for all users. Apple itself cannot access data protected by its Advanced Data Protection feature, which covers devices including iPhones and Mac computers. After Britain's demands, the company withdrew that feature for UK users in February last year.

The tribunal will rule on the secrecy question at a later date, while a full hearing on the substance of the case is unlikely before next year.