Pressure grows to hold secret Apple privacy hearing in public

US politicians, civil rights campaigners and the BBC are all calling for a High Court hearing about a data privacy row between Apple and the UK government to be held in public.

The tech giant is taking legal action after the Home Office demanded the right to access customer data protected by its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) programme.

Apple cannot access data stored in this way currently – but the UK government says it needs to be able to see it if there is a national security risk.

The BBC understands the matter will be considered at a closed hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal at the High Court on Friday morning.

In an open letter, five US politicians from across the political divide have urged the Tribunal to remove what they call the “cloak of secrecy” surrounding the row – which they say has major security implications.

The letter has been signed by Senators Ron Wyden and Alex Padilla, and Members of Congress Warren Davidson, Andy Biggs and Zoe Lofgren.

“It is imperative that the UK’s technical demands of Apple – and of any other US companies – be subjected to robust, public analysis and debate,” they said.

The BBC has contacted Apple for a response. The Home Office declined to comment.

Separately, a group of civil liberties organisations has also written to the Tribunal president, Lord Justice Singh.

Big Brother Watch, Index on Censorship, and Open Rights Group argue there is “significant public interest” in “on what basis the UK government believes it can compel a private company to undermine the privacy and security of its customers”.

“Holding this Tribunal in secret would be an affront to the global privacy and security issues that are being discussed,” Open Rights Group Executive Director Jim Killock told the BBC.

“This is bigger than just the UK or Apple.”

The BBC is also asking the Tribunal for the hearing to be in public so it can report what is said by the parties present.

ADP is contentious because it is end to end encrypted, meaning no-one can access files that have been secured with it apart from their owner.

In February, it emerged the UK government was seeking the right to be able to access data protected in this way using powers granted to it under the Investigatory Powers Act.

The Act allows it to covertly compel firms to provide information to law enforcement agencies.

Apple responded by pulling ADP in the UK and then launching legal action to challenge the government’s demand.

It is understood the matter will come before Lord Justice Singh on Friday.

Because it relates to the security services, it is scheduled to be held in private.

In an earlier statement, Apple said: “Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end to end encryption is more urgent than ever before.

“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in future in the UK.”

The Home Office has previously told the BBC: “The UK has a longstanding position of protecting our citizens from the very worst crimes, such as child sex abuse and terrorism, at the same time as protecting people’s privacy.

“The UK has robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and privacy is only impacted on an exceptional basis, in relation to the most serious crimes and only when it is necessary and proportionate to do so.”