Apple challenges UK’s secret order on encrypted iCloud access

• Published On: 05 March 2025 at 07:11

According to the Financial Times, Apple has filed an appeal with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which handles complaints about alleged unlawful surveillance by UK intelligence agencies and authorities, to challenge a secret UK government order demanding access to encrypted iCloud files.

The tribunal will consider whether the UK's directive to Apple was legally justified and may overturn it. A hearing may take place as early as this month.

Apple previously discontinued offering its Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK in response to the order, and it is now attempting to challenge it completely. The company has yet to comment on the situation.

The UK government issued the directive in January under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, according to The Washington Post. The order focusses on Apple's Advanced Data Protection feature, which uses end-to-end encryption to secure iCloud backups, preventing even Apple from accessing user data.