US Lawmakers Demand Public Hearing on Apple 'Backdoor' Case

U.S. Lawmakers Call for Transparency in Apple Surveillance Case

A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators is requesting that the president of the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) conduct an open hearing regarding Apple’s impending challenge to a purported secret legal demand from the U.K. government.

Concerns Over Public Interest and Constitutional Rights

Senator Ron Wyden and four other U.S. federal lawmakers articulated their concerns in a letter this week. They stated that hearings concerning the alleged order should not be conducted privately, as it is “in the public interest” to ensure transparency.

The lawmakers further contend that the alleged U.K. order restricts Apple, based in California, from exercising speech rights that are “constitutionally protected” under U.S. law. This also hinders their capacity to perform effective congressional oversight.

Details of the Alleged Backdoor Demand

Reports from The Washington Post in February revealed that the U.K. government had secretly requested Apple to develop a “backdoor” earlier this year. This would grant U.K. authorities access to the cloud-stored data of Apple customers globally.

Apple, bound by legal restrictions preventing disclosure or comment on “technical capabilities notices,” reportedly refused the demand. Instead of complying with the backdoor request, Apple removed its Advanced Data Protection iCloud data-encryption feature for customers within the U.K.

Upcoming Hearing and Government Response

The U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, responsible for hearing legal challenges related to U.K. surveillance powers, is scheduled to hear a private petition on Friday. This hearing is reportedly connected to Apple, as indicated in Senator Wyden’s letter.

Apple has not issued a comment when approached by TechCrunch on Friday.

A spokesperson for the U.K. government has declined to comment on operational matters, including “confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

Broader Implications and Other Companies

The number of companies that have received similar technical demands from the U.K. government remains unclear.

According to the lawmakers’ letter, Google has informed Senator Wyden’s office that it would be legally prohibited from disclosing receipt of a technical capabilities notice.

Legal Challenges from Civil Rights Groups

Liberty and Privacy International, two civil rights organizations, are also legally challenging the U.K. government’s backdoor order through a submission to the IPT. They have joined calls from privacy rights groups for the IPT’s hearing regarding Apple’s appeal to be held publicly.