Apple has initiated a new legal challenge against the UK government at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the specialist judicial body that handles complaints about surveillance and intelligence-agency conduct, after the Home Office issued a second technical capability notice demanding access to the company's encrypted iCloud data.

The filing marks the latest escalation in a protracted dispute between Whitehall and the US technology giant, reigniting what could become another diplomatic clash between London and Washington. It comes less than a year after the UK government withdrew an earlier order following a legal battle and pressure from US officials.

The conflict centres on the UK's Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), commonly referred to as the 'snooper's charter,' first introduced by Yvette Cooper. The legislation empowers the Home Secretary to issue technical capability notices (TCNs) compelling technology companies to provide access to encrypted data. The UK is not alone in pressing for such access — Australia enacted comparable powers under its 2018 Assistance and Access Act, and encryption mandates remain a live policy debate across the EU and in the United States, where Apple resisted an FBI court order to unlock a mass shooter's iPhone in 2016.

Apple has consistently refused to build a backdoor, arguing that weakening encryption for UK users would compromise the security of its products globally. In response to the demands, the company disabled its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for UK users entirely. ADP, launched by Apple in December 2022, provides end-to-end encryption for sensitive iCloud data categories including device backups, messages, and photos, meaning that even Apple cannot access the encrypted content.

In a statement issued in September, Apple said: "We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP are not available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy. Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before."

The company added: "As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will."

Background: Whitehall Faced Pressure from Washington

Apple, represented by law firm Fieldfisher, had previously filed its first legal challenge against the Home Office at the Tribunal, with a hearing expected early this year. Other major technology companies, including WhatsApp, applied to intervene in the case to support Apple.

Simultaneously, the UK government came under pressure from Washington. To resolve the diplomatic dispute between London and Washington, the UK government ultimately dropped its demand for global access to Apple's encrypted data.

However, the Home Office subsequently issued a second notice to Apple in October, this time seeking access to encrypted iCloud data belonging to UK users rather than global data. Apple maintains that any backdoor, even one limited to a single country's users, cannot be reliably contained and would compromise security for all users worldwide.

Apple has now confirmed the filing of its new legal challenge at the Tribunal, setting the stage for another potential diplomatic confrontation between the two allied governments. The Tribunal can hear evidence in closed sessions when national-security material is involved, and its determinations are subject to appeal on points of law.

The original report is available at City AM.