Apple launches new legal challenge to UK attempt to access encrypted user data, FT reports

Apple has launched a new legal challenge against the British government's attempt to access encrypted customer data, lodging a complaint at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

Apple has launched a new legal challenge ​against the British government's latest attempt to ​create a so-called backdoor to ‌access ​encrypted customer data, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The report said Apple last month lodged a legal complaint at the Investigatory ‌Powers Tribunal — Britain's independent judicial body — over the Interior Ministry's demand that Apple allow it access to encrypted cloud backups of data belonging to British users.

Britain dropped last year a previous mandate ‌for such a backdoor that would have allowed access to British and U.S. customers' data ‌following months of negotiations with the U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. However, British authorities subsequently issued a new "technical capability notice" to Apple that did not apply to U.S. users, the FT report said.

A British government spokesperson ⁠said ​it would not ⁠comment on legal proceedings or operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of individual notices. "The UK supports strong ⁠encryption and robust privacy protections, but it is also vital that law enforcement can access communications when ​necessary and proportionate to protect the public from terrorism, serious crime, and child sexual abuse," ⁠the spokesperson said.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report. "This is a ⁠hugely ​important case that will have far-reaching implications for the public’s privacy rights well into the future," Ruth Ehrlich, director of external relations at human rights advocacy group Liberty, which has ⁠previously been involved in the legal case, said in a statement.

"Opening a backdoor to all ⁠of that information ⁠carries a wide range of risks to our personal data. It is critical that the government listens to the many concerns and commits ‌to protecting our ‌privacy rights."