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US lawmakers are urging the UK government to publicly hold the hearing between itself and Apple regarding a British government request for the tech giant to introduce “backdoor” access to its cloud storage systems.
Last month, following an order by the UK government demanding the right to access data, Apple removed its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from its secure cloud storage.
While Apple’s standard level of encryption allows access with a warrant, ADP is its most secure privacy measure and prevents even Apple from accessing using the opt-in security feature for encryption.
The UK demanded access to the data of Apple users for cases of national security threats.
Rather than comply with the order, Apple created a “back door” tool to allow the UK to access it. The tech giant said it was disappointed in having to remove ADP for the UK and that it maintains it is against compromising user security. However, at the beginning of March, Apple appealed the UK order with the nation’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
Now, five US federal lawmakers, including Senator Ron Wyden, wrote to the head of the British Investigatory Powers Tribunal, requesting that the hearing between the UK government and Apple be made public.
“Given the significant technical complexity of this issue, as well as the important national security harms that will result from weakening cyber security defences, it is imperative that the UK’s technical demands of Apple— and of any other US companies — be subjected to robust, public analysis and debate by cyber security experts,” the members said.
“Secret court hearings featuring intelligence agencies and a handful of individuals approved by them do not enable robust challenges on highly technical matters.”
Apple has so far been legally barred from publicly commenting on the “technical capabilities notice,” which US lawmakers have condemned, saying that the UK has prevented Apple from “constitutionally protected” free speech.
As Cyber Daily reported at the beginning of March, the UK’s move to create a backdoor allowing it to access Apple user data saw instant backlash from the US, where Apple is based.
President Donald Trump likened it to “something that you hear about with China”, while Wyden and Congressman Andy Biggs wrote to US director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, saying that the move would undermine the privacy rights of Americans and could expose their data to Chinese, Russian and other espionage.
“These reported actions seriously threaten the privacy and security of both the American people and the US government,” the letter said.
“Apple does not make different versions of its encryption software for each market; Apple customers in the UK use the same software as Americans.
“If Apple is forced to build a backdoor in its products, that backdoor will end up in Americans’ phones, tablets, and computers, undermining the security of Americans’ data, as well as of the countless federal, state, and local government agencies that entrust sensitive data to Apple products.”
Gabbard has also called the move an “egregious violation” of the privacy rights of US citizens, adding that she will be investigating whether the order breached a legal data agreement between the US and the UK.
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