Apple Returns to Court Over UK iCloud Backdoor Order as 55% Were Unaware
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Aug 27
Apple Returns to Court Over UK iCloud Backdoor Order as 55% Were Unaware
3 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Aug 27
Summary
Apple is again challenging a renewed UK demand to build backdoor access into encrypted iCloud data, after the government revived a secret Technical Capability Notice that had reportedly been dropped last year.
2,000 UK adults polled by the Center for Democracy and Technology showed broad resistance to the policy: just 12% backed government access to private data, while 87% said people should be told when their private conversations are reviewed.
55% of respondents said they had been unaware the original order existed, reflecting the secrecy around the notice, which barred Apple from disclosing it; the UK later narrowed its approach under US pressure to target only UK citizens.
Privacy International and Liberty are also contesting the use of Technical Capability Notices, as critics argue any mandated weakness in encryption would expose banking, medical and personal data to wider criminal and state exploitation.