LONDON (Reuters) -Apple is appealing against a British government order to create a “back door” to its encrypted cloud storage systems, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) confirmed on Monday.
The IPT said in a written ruling that it had refused the British government’s application that “the bare details of the case”, including who had brought it, be kept private.
Apple declined to comment, but referred to a previous statement in which it said it would never build a so-called back door into its encrypted services or devices.
At issue is Advanced Data Protection, a feature that can be enabled by users of Apple’s iPhones, Macs and other devices to ensure that only they — and not even Apple — can unlock data stored on its cloud.
Britain’s Home Office, its interior ministry, said it did not comment on legal proceedings but stressed that a warrant would be needed for any individual’s data to be accessed.
Its statement said Britain’s investigatory powers were “subject to robust safeguards including judicial authorisations and oversight to protect people’s privacy”.
“These powers are purely about preventing serious crime and pursuing criminals, and do not affect our commitment to free speech,” it added.
The Washington Post reported in February that Britain had issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple to enable blanket access to encrypted messages and photos, even for users outside the country.
The Financial Times later reported that Apple had appealed, but details of the case have been shrouded in secrecy.
The Home Office had argued that publicising the existence of the appeal or its originator could damage national security.
But judges Rabinder Singh and Jeremy Johnson said they did not accept this argument.
A hearing was held in London last month, which media were not allowed to attend.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and Kevin Liffey)
