Apple challenging legality of UK’s secret demand to globally compromise iCloud encryption

It appears Apple will have its day in court to challenge the UK’s not-so-secret-anymore order demanding a backdoor into iCloud.

The Financial Times reports that Apple has filed a complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that could see the British government’s order overturned.

The iPhone maker has made its appeal to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent judicial body that examines complaints against the UK security services, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Silicon Valley company’s legal challenge is believed to be the first time that provisions in the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act allowing UK authorities to break encryption have been tested before the court. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal will consider whether the UK’s notice to Apple was lawful and, if not, could order it to be quashed.

The FT adds that Apple’s legal complaint was filed last month, and that the case could go to court this month. The Financial Times is the first to report that a legal complaint was filed. It’s not known if the hearing will become public knowledge beyond reporting.

Last week, the Trump administration voiced concerns that the secret request for an iCloud backdoor may have broken a privacy agreement between the United States and the UK.

Apple responded to the demand by removing the Advanced Data Protection feature for iCloud backups for customers in the UK. The move takes Apple’s most comprehensive end-to-end encryption feature off the table in the UK for now rather than compromising privacy and breaking encryption globally.