The UK government has lost its bid to keep a legal battle with Apple private. The UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal rejected the case, which was on behalf of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
In a ruling published yesterday, the specialist court said that conducting proceedings essentially in private “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. That would be the most fundamental interference with the principle of open justice.”
Apple Beats Government Over Case Secrecy
As Bloomberg News explained, the clash happened after Sir Keir Starmer’s administration demanded Apple provide a workaround to its most advanced cloud encryption tools. Not surprisingly, this did not go down well in Cupertino. Consequently, Apple removed Advanced Data Protection for British users rather than provide that workaround.
In addition, the Home Office tried to keep Apple’s legal challenge out of the public eye. This included not listing the names of the participants publicly. That is the antithesis of both open justice and a free press. Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, an organisation that campaigns to protect privacy and free speech online, told me:
The court has been very clear that the main considerations need to be heard in the open, which is a very important victory. Now we need to make sure that the profound issues of weakening security are properly considered. This case has the potential to shape the future of everyones privacy and security, across Europe and the globe.
Media Concerns Over UK Government Hiding Case
For obvious reasons, journalists have concerns about their sensitive data being accessible by the government. Whatismore, media organisations were not happy about the bid to hide the case. The court ruling noted:
Once the notice on the website was published, we received written representations from the BBC (and 9 other media organisations), PA Media, Big Brother Watch, Privacy International and Liberty. We also received a letter from members of the United States Congress signed by Senator Ron Wyden and Sen do le Pai Comen woman De ere. Congres, man And Bies, strongly argued in favour of open justice and against the proceedings taking place in secret.The BBC and other media organisations made a request to advance oral submissions.
In press a statement, Rebecca Vincent, Interim Director of Big Brother Watch, called the judgement “a very welcome step in the right direction”. She added that the ruling was “effectively chipping away at the pervasive climate of secrecy surrounding the Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s consideration of the Apple case.” On top of that, Vincent argued:
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.
That multiple press outlets have now reported on the story shows how badly the government’s strategy has backfired. I’m sure things would have got far less attention had the government not tried to stifle them. Irrespective of that, we have a right to know how our data is or is not being protected and how it is being used. The media has a responsibility to make sure that information is public. Fighting alongside a tech giant, it has won. This time.
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