Apple Challenges UK Government Over Secret Encryption Backdoors

Apple Inc. and campaign groups Privacy International and Liberty are challenging the UK Home Office's refusal to confirm the existence of secret Technical Capability Notices (TCNs). During a hearing at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London on September 18, 2026, lawyers argued that the government's policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of these orders is unsustainable. The TCNs reportedly require Apple to create security backdoors to access encrypted iCloud backups of British users.

The dispute follows a January 2025 order for global data access, which the UK government later dropped following pressure from the White House, and a subsequent October 2025 order specifically targeting British users. In response to these mandates, Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection service for new users in the UK to avoid implementing the required backdoors.

The Home Office maintains that disclosing the orders would damage national security by helping terrorists and criminals hide their activities or allowing hostile actors to map targeted companies. Conversely, claimants argue the secrecy prevents open justice and public discussion. The tribunal is currently deciding whether to move the case to open court based on assumed facts, while a full hearing on the legality of the data access demands is not expected until next year.