At a hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London, lawyers for privacy groups Privacy International and Liberty condemned the British government’s policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of a technical capability notice (TCN) that would require Apple to provide a back‑door to encrypted cloud backups.

Background of the order

In January 2025, the United Kingdom issued a TCN that sought a back‑door into encrypted data of both U.S. and British citizens stored on Apple’s cloud services. After months of negotiations with President Trump’s administration, the original demand was withdrawn, but a second notice was issued in July 2025 targeting only Apple’s UK customers.

Apple’s legal fight

Apple has challenged the order in the specialist court, arguing that creating a single entry point for any government could be exploited by hackers or hostile states, thereby weakening security for all users. The company has already disabled its Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users, citing the impossibility of guaranteeing privacy under the order.

Lawyers’ arguments

Ben Jaffey, representing the campaign groups, called the government’s stance “far‑cical” and said the issue was already public knowledge. He and Apple’s counsel criticized the UK’s non‑confirmation, non‑denial (NCND) policy as an affront to open justice, preventing meaningful public discussion.

British government lawyer Neil Sheldon warned that abandoning the NCND policy could pose a national‑security risk, potentially providing material assistance to hostile actors who might learn which operators are subject to TCNs.

Next steps

The Tribunal will issue a ruling on the NCND policy at a later date, while a full hearing on the substantive Apple case is not expected until next year.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.