Latest news with #InvestigatoryPowersTribunal
Belfast Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Daughter of pensioner ‘sacrificed to protect IRA spy Stakeknife' loses battle for legal review of case
The daughter of a murdered pensioner allegedly sacrificed to protect a top-ranking British spy inside the IRA has lost a legal battle to have her complaints judicially examined in Northern Ireland. Noreen Thompson was refused leave to challenge an Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) decision that her case should be dealt with by the Court of Appeal in England and Wales.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple Appeals Back Door Demand, US Intel Chief Warns of Cybersecurity Risks
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is continuing to fight a U.K. government order that would require it to create a so-called back door into users' encrypted cloud data. The company appealed the mandate to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a court that handles cases involving surveillance and alleged misuse of investigatory powers by public bodies. In a new ruling, the Tribunal rejected a request from the U.K. Home Department to keep basic details of the case confidential, including the names of the involved parties. Earlier this year, U.K. officials ordered Apple to disable end-to-end encryption for users in Britain. Instead of complying, Apple removed the feature altogether from its U.K. services but has maintained its global encryption stance. The U.K. government argues the measure is needed for national security purposes, including combating terrorism and child exploitation. Apple, backed by several voices in the U.S., maintains that creating a back door would compromise global privacy standards. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has expressed concern, warning in a letter that such a move could expose Americans' personal data to cyber threats. The Tribunal said case management orders will follow after parties respond to the ruling . It's important to note that the stock is down 10% year?to?date, compared to the sector median's 15% decline. Over the past six months, it has dropped 20% compared to the sector's 25% pullback, indicating relative resilience. Even at the one?year mark, the stock's 5% decline still fares better than the sector's double?digit slump. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple-UK data privacy row should not be secret, court rules
The Home Office has failed in its bid to keep all the details of its data privacy legal row with Apple out of the public domain. The UK government wants the right to be able access information secured by Apple's Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system, citing powers given to it under the Investigatory Powers Act. At the moment Apple has no such capability - such data can only be accessed by the user - and says it does not want to create what it calls a "backdoor" into ADP because of concerns it could be used for criminal purposes. The government's request prompted fierce criticism from privacy campaigners and some US politicians. In February, Apple pulled ADP from the UK and in March launched legal proceedings against the government, in a case which is being heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The government argued it would damage national security if the nature of the legal action - and the parties to it - were made public, what are known as the "bare details of the case". In a ruling published on Monday morning, the tribunal judges rejected that request - pointing to the extensive media reporting of the row and highlighting the legal principle of open justice. "It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place," it states. "For the reasons that are set out in our private judgement, 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," it later adds. The Home Office have been asked to comment but have yet to respond. What Apple pulling Advanced Data Protection means for you Pressure grows to hold secret Apple data privacy hearing in public Apple takes legal action in UK data privacy row
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-04-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Apple Appealing against UK 'Back Door' Order, Tribunal Confirms
Apple is appealing against a British government order to create a "back door" to its encrypted cloud storage systems, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) confirmed on Monday. The IPT said in a written judgment that it had refused an application by the British government that "the bare details of the case", including that it was brought by Apple, be kept private. The ruling follows a hearing in London last month, which was held in secret with media not allowed to attend. The Washington Post reported in February that Britain had issued a "technical capability notice" to Apple to enable access to encrypted messages and photos, even for users outside the country, Reuters reported. The iPhone maker in response removed its most advanced security encryption for cloud data, called Advanced Data Protection, for new users in Britain. Details of the case have been shrouded in secrecy and neither Apple nor the British government have publicly confirmed the technical capability notice.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Media denied entry to tribunal thought to be about Apple and Government data row
The media has been barred from attending a tribunal hearing which was reportedly part of Apple's legal action against the Government. On Friday, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a specialist tribunal which deals with allegations of unlawful intrusion and complaints against the security services, sat in private for an all-day hearing. The BBC previously reported that the hearing related to legal action brought by Apple against the UK Government over a 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. Last month it was reported that the Government had issued an order under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, asking for the ability to access this data from Apple users. 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. 'We have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,' an Apple spokesperson said. Multiple media organisations, including the PA news agency, asked the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to confirm who was taking part in Friday's hearing, and for the hearing to sit in public. However, neither journalists nor legal representatives on behalf of the media were allowed in to Friday's hearing, and the identities of the parties involved were not disclosed. Several organisations, including Liberty and Privacy International, had also challenged the tribunal sitting behind closed doors. In a letter to the tribunal, Big Brother Watch, Index on Censorship and Open Rights Group said: 'This case implicates the privacy rights of millions of British citizens who use Apple's technology, as well as Apple's international users. 'There is significant public interest in knowing when and on what basis the UK Government believes that it can compel a private company to undermine the privacy and security of its customers. There are no good reasons to keep this hearing entirely private.' And ahead of the hearing, Open Rights Group executive director Jim Killock said that having the hearing in secret 'would be an affront to the global privacy and security issues that are being discussed' Mr Killock continued: 'This is bigger than just the UK, or Apple. But most importantly, if the UK wants to claim the right to make all of Apple's users more likely to be hacked and blackmailed, then they should argue for that in an open court.'
