US lawmakers urge secretive British court to open up about Apple case
Summary
Two U.S. lawmakers from different political parties are asking a British court to be more open about Apple’s legal fight over government demands to access encrypted data. They argue that the British government’s secrecy harms relations between the U.S. and the U.K. and interferes with the powers of the U.S. Congress.Key Facts
- Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat) and Congressman Warren Davidson (Republican) sent a letter to Britain’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).
- The dispute started in January 2025 when the UK Home Office ordered Apple to help access encrypted iCloud backups worldwide.
- Apple responded by removing its Advanced Data Protection encryption feature for UK users.
- The original UK government demand was withdrawn and replaced with a narrower order targeting only UK users’ data.
- Apple challenged the new order in the IPT and filed a new complaint about the government’s authority.
- The U.S. lawmakers say secrecy around this case blocks Congress from doing its job and violates U.S. constitutional powers.
- The tribunal previously ruled the case details should be public, following pressure from lawmakers.
- The letter argues the UK government should not prevent legislative oversight in either country by using secrecy orders.
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