On September 17, 2026, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal held a case-management hearing on separate challenges by Apple and Liberty over reported UK encryption notices. The hearing addressed how the cases would proceed while the UK government maintained its position of neither confirming nor denying the notices.
The tribunal hearing in the UK–Apple encryption dispute
The hearing concerned procedure: how the separate challenges would move forward and whether the proceedings could use actual facts while the government withheld confirmation. Liberty is challenging the secrecy regime; Apple also brought a fresh challenge in 2026.
A Technical Capability Notice (TCN) is a secret order under section 253 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. Liberty says the mechanism can require companies to make changes to their products and restricts them from disclosing receipt of a notice.
What has been reported about the UK notices
Reports described two distinct notices. The first was reportedly issued to Apple in January 2025 and sought access to encrypted iCloud data held for users worldwide. In August 2025, then-U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the UK had agreed to drop its reported demand concerning Americans’ protected data. Reports later described a separate notice, issued in October 2025 and focused on British users.
The UK government has maintained a neither-confirm-nor-deny position on the notices. The reported worldwide scope of the first notice and the narrower reported scope of the later one refer to separate orders at different points in the dispute.
What Apple’s ADP change means for UK users
Apple says people in the UK who have not already enabled Advanced Data Protection (ADP) can no longer turn it on. ADP extends end-to-end encryption to additional iCloud data categories. Apple says 15 categories remain end-to-end encrypted by default, including iCloud Keychain and Health.
Without ADP, Apple says 10 additional categories receive Standard Data Protection for UK users who cannot enable the feature: iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, Photos, Notes, Reminders, Safari Bookmarks, Siri Shortcuts, Voice Memos, Wallet Passes and Freeform. Apple also says iMessage and FaceTime remain end-to-end encrypted globally, including in the UK.
For users in the United States, Apple says ADP remains available. The UK change therefore differs from the service’s availability in the U.S.
The reported White House concern
A September 2026 warning attributed to an unnamed White House security official reportedly raised concern that another UK attempt could be used to track U.S. administration figures and Nigel Farage. The warning described a feared possibility; it did not report that those people had been surveilled.
