Apple Files New Legal Challenge Against UK iCloud Backdoor Order

Apple has filed a new legal challenge against a UK government order seeking access to encrypted iCloud backups belonging to British users. The complaint was lodged in July with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), the same court Apple turned to during the original encryption dispute in early 2025.



According to the Financial Times, the complaint targets a "technical capability notice" (TCN) issued under the Investigatory Powers Act. The notice seeks to compel Apple to provide UK security services with access to encrypted iCloud backups protected by Advanced Data Protection. Unlike the initial worldwide order, which the UK dropped after intense pressure from Washington, this notice does not extend to American accounts.


Apple has long argued that creating any backdoor would weaken security for all users, maintaining that it has never built, and never will build, a backdoor or master key into its products. Neither Apple nor the Home Office is legally permitted to discuss TCNs, but the court has notified human rights group Privacy International of the new complaint. Privacy International and Liberty already have a parallel case against such notices, and a case management hearing to determine how the two complaints will proceed has been scheduled for next month.

The dispute began in early 2025 when the UK government secretly ordered Apple to provide access to data protected by iCloud's Advanced Data Protection, which uses end-to-end encryption so that not even Apple can view the content. Because Apple does not hold the encryption keys, complying would have required weakening or redesigning the service, prompting Apple to withdraw Advanced Data Protection in the UK and challenge the order at the IPT. After the UK agreed to drop the original global demand, it was later revealed that a replacement order covering only British users was issued in October 2025.

Details of the filing are not public, as both Apple and the Home Office are legally barred from discussing technical capability notices. The filing indicates Apple's legal challenge to the revised order is continuing, though no timeline has been set for a ruling.