Apple's successful lawsuit: Britain's secrecy has come to an end

It is now officially no longer a secret that the UK government wants to force Apple to install a backdoor in the iCloud. This became known at the beginning of February through media reports. The iPhone manufacturer has now won its first case in court. This means that the order can be addressed publicly. Even this was initially denied to Apple following the application of the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) by the British Home Office.

However, in its decision published on Monday, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has now made it clear that the publication of the mere existence of the claim, the details or the identity of the parties does not jeopardize national security. The Home Office wanted to make even the fact that a hearing was taking place classified information, according to the tribunal's ruling.

Just a start

With the ruling, Apple is still a long way from stopping the order itself. The further hearings will also remain classified for the time being. Apple had switched off end-to-end encryption for the iCloud in response to the order in the UK. This allowed the company to avoid the obligation to install a backdoor that would have affected users worldwide. The US government had also lodged a loud protest against this.

For Apple and civil rights activists, the ruling is at least a first glimmer of hope for the upcoming court battles. Among other things, this will involve the powers of the Ministry of the Interior to order so-called "Technical Capability Notices". The UK's Security and Espionage Act makes such secret orders possible. The government can use them to require tech companies to hand over encrypted content from backups and other data of all users worldwide at the request of the authorities in the UK.

"Unprecedented overstepping of boundaries"

Apple had already warned of an "unprecedented overstepping of boundaries" by the London government a year before the current order. Critics see the law as a secret attack on data protection. Above all, it is questionable that it allows action to be taken in secret – allegedly in the interests of national security, but presumably in the interests of the government not having to face public discussion.

Initially, the orders can only be appealed in secret, which Apple has now successfully done. However, the appeal proceedings had no suspensive effect.

(mki)