Keenan Analyses Apple’s Appeal Against Encryption Backdoor Order

2 April 2025

In a detailed analysis for Computer Weekly, GCDC member Dr Bernard Keenan examines Apple’s appeal to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal against a UK government order that could compel the tech company to weaken its Advanced Data Protection encryption – essentially creating an encryption ‘backdoor’.

Keenan unpacks the procedural and substantive issues relating to the case, including the government’s likely arguments, the importance of conducting the hearing in public, and whether the order meets the test of proportionality. He also considers possible outcomes of the appeal, concluding that the most desirable would be a victory for Apple, where the Tribunal holds a public hearing and rules that encryption backdoors are inherently disproportionate and unlawful. Such a decision, he suggests, would strengthen trust in the UK as a free and open society.

Read the full article on the Computer Weekly website.