The UK has lost in its effort to keep information about a legal dispute with Apple away from the public. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which looks into whether intelligence services have acted unlawfully, decided that the Home Office cannot keep the “bare details” of the case confidential. This is the first time that some details about the case have been officially confirmed. The case involves a legal challenge by Apple against the Home Office regarding technical capability notices under the Investigatory Powers Act. The Home Office argued that revealing the existence of the claim and the names of the parties involved would harm national security. However, the judges ruled that disclosing the basic details of the case would not be against the public interest or national security. The Guardian and other media organizations reported that the Home Office served Apple with a technical capability notice, demanding access to Apple’s heavily encrypted data storage service. Apple pulled the service from the UK instead of complying with the notice, stating that it would not create a “backdoor” to its products or services. Neither Apple nor the Home Office confirmed or denied the accuracy of the reports. Journalists were not allowed to attend a hearing related to the case, and the identities of the parties involved were not disclosed before the hearing. The judges stated that it may be possible for future hearings to include a public element, with or without reporting restrictions, but this could not be determined at this stage. Ross McKenzie, a data protection partner at the law firm Addleshaw Goddard, believes it is unlikely that there will be in-depth revelations of the Home Office’s case for accessing Apple user data. A Home Office spokesperson stated that the department does not comment on legal proceedings, but emphasized the importance of their targeted investigatory powers in preventing terrorism and criminal activity. The spokesperson also mentioned the need to maintain these powers as technology evolves. Apple declined to comment on the matter.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/07/uk-home-office-loses-attempt-to-keep-legal-battle-with-apple-secret