IPT dismisses Apple's appeal against Home Office iCloud backdoor demand
13/10/2025 | ComputerSWeekly
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has dismissed Apple's legal appeal against a UK government order that required the company to create a backdoor providing global access to its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) iCloud encryption. The IPT threw out the case due to a "change in circumstances" following a new Home Office order.
This latest Technical Capability Notice (TCN), issued under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), restricts the government's ability to access encrypted data on Apple's iCloud service to British users only, effectively narrowing the scope of the original demand. Despite the legal victory for the Home Office, Apple confirmed it will still not offer its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service to UK customers. The company stated it was "gravely disappointed" that the privacy protections of ADP remain unavailable to its users in the UK.
It is not yet understood whether Apple will resubmit a fresh challenge against the new demand.
A separate claim brought by Privacy International and Liberty is currently expected to continue.
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