The UK’s attempt to keep its clash with Apple over end-to-end encryption under wraps has officially failed. As reported by the BBC, tribunal judges on Monday dismissed the government’s bid to keep the details of the dispute confidential, stating: “It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place.” Reports Technology News
This all began back in February, when the UK government secretly demanded that Apple build a backdoor into iCloud encryption. Rather than complying, Apple responded by pulling its Advanced Data Protection feature from the UK. Still, several types of iCloud data—like passwords, health information, payment details, iMessage, and FaceTime—remain fully end-to-end encrypted. Due to legal restrictions, Apple hasn’t been allowed to speak publicly about the UK’s request.
To push back, Apple filed a formal complaint with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, challenging the government’s demand. The case moved forward behind closed doors last month, even as calls mounted for transparency.
The government argued that it would “damage national security if the nature of the legal action” if the details were made public. The BBC now reports that this argument didn’t hold up to scrutiny:
