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The Home Office has lost a bid to keep legal action brought by Apple Inc against the UK government private. Last month, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a specialist tribunal which deals with allegations of unlawful intrusion and some national security matters, sat behind closed doors for an all-day hearing where the identities of the parties involved were not publicly known. Multiple media organisations, including the PA news agency, asked the tribunal to confirm who was taking part in the hearing on March 14 and to sit in public. Neither journalists nor legal representatives on behalf of the media were allowed into the hearing, and the identities of the parties involved were not disclosed. However, in a public judgment on Monday, judges at the tribunal said the case relates to legal action brought against the Home Office by Apple over the power to make technical capability notices under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. In a nine-page ruling, Lord Justice Singh and Justice Johnson said that ‘bare details’, including the identities of the parties, could be made public after a request from the Home Office that they remain private. Lawyers for the Home Office told the hearing in March that it would be damaging to national security if the fact of the claim, or details, were published, the judges said. They continued: ‘We do not accept that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security.’ Lord Justice Singh and Justice Johnson later said it could be possible ‘for some or all future hearings to incorporate a public element, with or without reporting restrictions’ but that could not be decided at this stage. It was previously reported that Apple was bringing legal action over the UK government’s request to access data covered by Apple’s Advanced Data Protection, ADP. The ADP is an opt-in tool on Apple’s iCloud service which meant only an account holder could access the ‘majority’ of file types such as photos or notes, as they were end-to-end encrypted meaning even Apple cannot access them. The government issued an order under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, asking for the ability to access this data from Apple users, according to reports. The iPhone maker subsequently said that it was withdrawing the tool from use in the UK, turning it off as an option for those not already using it, and will introduce a process to move existing users away from it. Lord Justice Singh and Justice Johnson said that neither Apple or the Home Office had confirmed or denied that these reports were accurate. ‘This judgment should not be taken as an indication that the media reporting is or is not accurate,’ the judges added. Apple shares were 3.0% lower in pre-market trading at $182.65 each on Monday in New York. By Jess Glass, PA Law Editor Press Association: News source: PA Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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