A group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers has urged the president of the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) to hold an open hearing regarding Apple’s challenge to an alleged secret U.K. government order. The lawmakers, led by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, argue that the public’s interest demands transparency in the legal proceedings surrounding the controversial demand. This move comes after reports revealed that the U.K. government secretly instructed Apple to create a “backdoor” to allow authorities to access encrypted iCloud data of users worldwide.
In a letter addressed to the IPT president, Wyden and four other federal lawmakers emphasized that the alleged U.K. order infringes upon free speech and constitutionally protected rights under U.S. law. The lawmakers expressed concern that such secrecy compromises the ability of the U.S. Congress to carry out proper oversight of government actions that affect American citizens and companies like Apple.
The U.K. government’s alleged secret legal demand—referred to as a “Technical Capabilities Notice” (TCN)—reportedly instructed Apple to build the backdoor, which would enable U.K. authorities to bypass end-to-end encryption and access iCloud data stored by users globally. In response, Apple allegedly refused the request and withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature for U.K. customers instead of complying with the order. Apple has not publicly commented on the issue due to legal constraints preventing the company from acknowledging or discussing the notice.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), a judicial body responsible for hearing cases related to surveillance powers used by the U.K. government, is expected to hear a private petition regarding Apple’s challenge. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 14. However, U.S. lawmakers, supported by privacy rights organizations such as Liberty and Privacy International, have urged the tribunal to open the proceedings to the public.
The letter from U.S. lawmakers also pointed out that other tech giants, including Google, have reported receiving similar technical demands. Google confirmed to Senator Wyden’s office that any such requests would legally prevent the company from disclosing the existence of the notices.
The case has sparked significant concern among civil rights groups who argue that the U.K.’s backdoor demand could set a dangerous precedent for undermining global privacy protections. As the legal battle progresses, both U.S. lawmakers and privacy organizations are pushing for greater transparency and public scrutiny.
Apple, as well as the U.K. government, have yet to comment publicly on the specific details of the backdoor order, leaving many questions unanswered about its broader implications for privacy and government surveillance.
