US lawmakers challenge UK court secrecy over Apple encryption dispute

A bipartisan group of American lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Representative Warren Davidson, has issued a joint letter to the United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT). The legislators are criticizing the secretive nature of the tribunal regarding a legal dispute between Apple and the British government over encrypted data access.

The conflict originated in January 2025, when the UK Home Office issued a technical capability notice under the Investigatory Powers Act. The government sought a mechanism to access encrypted iCloud backups on a global scale. In response, Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature for all users in the United Kingdom.

Wyden and Davidson argue that the UK’s use of secrecy directives to manage this dispute unnecessarily strains relations between the US and the UK. They contend that such secrecy prevents the US Congress from exercising its constitutional authority and legislative oversight, stating that a foreign executive body should not be permitted to frustrate the powers of the US government through administrative gag orders.