IPT supports ORG’s call for open hearing in Apple encryption case

The court responsible for hearing Apple’s challenge against the UK Government demanding that it breaks encryption has rejected the Home Office’s bid to have the case heard in secret.

Earlier this year, the UK Government ordered Apple to grant it access to encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide in its cloud service. The order, known as a Technical Capability Notice, was made under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. In response, Apple pulled its Advanced Data Protection service from the UK, stating it would never build a “back door” into its security measures.

Apple is challenging the Technical Capability Notice in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, with the Home Office seeking to have the proceedings held entirely in secret.

Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch and Index on Censorship made a submission to the court, arguing against proceedings taking in place in secret and in favour of open justice. Today, the Tribunal has rejected the Home Office’s application, stating it did not accept “that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security”.

Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group said:

“This is bigger than the UK and Apple. The Court’s judgment will have implications for the privacy and security of millions of people around the world. Such an important decision cannot be made behind closed doors and we welcome the IPT’s decision to bring parts of the hearing into the open so that there can be some public scrutiny of the UK government’s decisions to attack technologies that keep us safe online.”

Rebecca Vincent, Interim Director of Big Brother Watch:

“This judgment is a very welcome step in the right direction, effectively chipping away at the pervasive climate of secrecy surrounding the Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s consideration of the Apple case. The Home Office’s order to break encryption represents a massive attack on the privacy rights of millions of British Apple users, which is a matter of significant public interest and must not be considered behind closed doors. We are heartened that the Tribunal responded to the important legal arguments we made on the basis of open justice and that our submission calling for proceedings to be opened to the public has made a difference. We will keep campaigning to protect privacy rights in the face of these and other threats to encryption — as once it is broken for anyone, it is broken for everyone.”

Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship:

“This is a victory for those of us who campaign for privacy rights. It was incredibly sobering that a case about our privacy was being conducted both in private and in secret. So we’re pleased to see a course change here. That said, the battle is not yet won. The arguments to break encryption do not just relate to this specific case and we are having to constantly make the case for why encryption is vital in our democracy; nor does this judgment stipulate that the case will be held fully in the open moving forward – as it should be – only that we can know the “bare details”. We welcome this news but we continue to fight for full transparency here.”

The full judgment can be found on the Investigatory Powers Tribunal website.