Lawyer slams UK government’s ‘neither confirm nor deny’ stance on Apple encryption order as farce

At a London tribunal hearing, Ben Jaffey, a lawyer for Privacy International and Liberty, said the UK government's 'neither confirm nor deny' policy regarding an Apple order to access encrypted iCloud backups has become a farce. In July, the UK issued a second technical capability notice concerning only UK Apple users; Apple is challenging it in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

• UK issued first notice in January 2025, second in July, only for UK Apple users
• Apple disabled Advanced Data Protection for new UK users in February 2025
• Apple and groups Privacy International and Liberty challenge the order in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal
• Government cites national security and does not confirm the order's existence