Apple just won a bid to stop its UK privacy case from being held completely in secret (2025)

Apple has won its bid to stop a high-stakes legal battle with the UK government over its privacy-enhancing iPhone feature from being held in total secret.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal rejected a request on Monday from the UK government to keep all the details of Apple's legal challenge private.

The iPhone maker has been battling demands from the UK's Home Office to create a back door to its cloud systems that hold private user data.

The ruling from the independent judicial body strikes a blow to the UK government, which first issued Apple with a "technical capability notice" in January. It cited the Investigatory Powers Act introduced in 2016 to justify access to encrypted user data.

The UK government fought to keep the battle with Apple behind closed doors, citing concerns that "it would be damaging to national security" if details around Apple's case were published, the ruling published on Monday by tribunal judges said.

The judges, however, rejected a request from the UK's Home Office for the case's "bare details" to be kept secret, citing "open justice" as a fundamental principle after several media organizations called for transparency.

"We do not accept the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security," the court said.

The ruling raises the stakes in a tense standoff between the world's most valuable company and the UK government.

Apple said in February it could no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) — its most sophisticated security system — to customers in the UK after receiving the request.

Apple's website says it has "never created a backdoor or master key" to any of its products or services, and that "it has never allowed any government direct access to Apple servers."

"We do not comment on legal proceedings," a Home Office spokesperson told Business Insider. "Nor do we comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of individual notices."

Apple said it had no comment on the tribunal's decision and instead pointed BI to its February statement.

The case has drawn sharp scrutiny in the US, with President Donald Trump likening the UK government's encryption laws to those seen in China.

It has also led US congressmen to demand US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to intervene over fears that the UK government's request could result in Apple user data around the world being at risk.

Rebecca Vincent, the interim director of Big Brother Watch, a British civil liberties and privacy campaigning organization, welcomed the tribunal's decision.

"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," Vincent said.

Big Brother Watch made a submission to the court alongside Open Rights Group and Index on Censorship to argue against proceedings being held in secret.