The Newshound

Apple urges Home Office to lift 'farcical' gag order hiding secret iPhone backdoor demand from public

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Liberty and Privacy International have joined Apple's legal push to strip the gag order hiding the Home Office's secret demand for a backdoor into British iPhone users' encrypted data.
Liberty and Privacy International have joined Apple's legal push to strip the gag order hiding the Home Office's secret demand for a backdoor into British iPhone users' encrypted data.

Apple's lawyers have called a government gag order blocking any official confirmation of the Home Office's secret iPhone backdoor demand "farcical," and are pushing the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to force Labour to come clean. Human rights groups Liberty and Privacy International have backed Apple's push, warning that transparency is essential for public legal challenges to proceed. The request, made by then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, would have required Apple to grant officials access to encrypted iPhone data including photos and messages.

Apple refused to comply with the demand and instead scrapped its 'Advanced Data Protection' feature for British iPhone users entirely.

MoreGB NewsApple urges Home Office to come clean on 'backdoor' letting officials snoop on YOUR phone9to5MacApple pushes UK court to lift secrecy around encryption backdoor order - 9to5MacComputer WeeklyHome Office challenged on ‘farcical’ secrecy over Apple ‘backdoor’ order - Computer WeeklyYahoo Finance UKUK silence over demand for Apple data access is farcical, lawyer says - Yahoo Finance UK
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