Category: Cyber Security | Published: 2025-07-30
WhatsApp Shut Out of High-Stakes Encryption Fight
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), which hears complaints about UK surveillance and investigatory powers, has rejected an application by WhatsApp to intervene in two linked legal challenges over the use of secret government powers to weaken encryption.
The challenges stem from a reported Technical Capability Notice (TCN) issued by the Home Office in January 2025. Under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act, a TCN can compel a company to build or alter technology to ensure it can be accessed by government agencies under lawful authority.
In this case, the order reportedly demanded that Apple provide access to encrypted user data stored globally on its iCloud platform, including material protected by its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service.
Apple responded in February by withdrawing the ADP feature from UK users, publicly stating that it would never build _“a backdoor or master key”_ into its products. The move drew attention on both sides of the Atlantic, triggering concerns in the US about the implications for American users and businesses.