Apple has taken legal action in opposition to the British government's demand that the company allow access to encrypted user data.

Apple has filed a lawsuit with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) challenging the UK government's demand to create a "backdoor" allowing law enforcement authorities and others to monitor user data, according to British daily newspaper The Guardian and other media reports on the 3rd, local time.

A backdoor refers to a tool or account that allows access to encrypted data without going through normal authentication, much like sneaking in through a back door.

The British government maintains that such encrypted data access is essential for investigating terrorism and child sexual abuse crimes.

Initially, the UK demanded access to the encrypted data of all Apple users worldwide last year, but stepped back and withdrew the request after facing friction with the United States.

Subsequently, the UK issued a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) to Apple limiting the scope of access to domestic users, prompting Apple to file this lawsuit in response.

Apple has repeatedly issued strong statements in the past, declaring, "We have never built a backdoor or master key into any of our products or services and we never will."

Apple's position is that creating a backdoor could pose risks such as data breaches or privacy violations by malicious actors.

When the UK government demanded a feature to bypass Advanced Data Protection (ADP)—which encrypts data so that only the account holder can access it—Apple took the hardline response of halting ADP services altogether within the UK early last year.

The human rights organization Liberty criticized the UK government's demand, stating, "This case is of critical importance with profound implications for the future of the right to privacy. Creating a backdoor that provides access to all information poses widespread risks to personal data."

Apple has previously engaged in legal battles rejecting backdoor demands from government agencies.

In 2016, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asked Apple to create a backdoor bypassing security features to unlock an iPhone belonging to a mass shooter, but Apple refused and fought the demand legally.

In an open letter at the time, CEO Tim Cook described a backdoor as equivalent to "a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks—from restaurants and banks to stores and homes," warning that "if it fell into the wrong hands, it would have the potential to unlock any iPhone."

Cook emphasized, "The government is asking us to rewrite our operating system and to backdoor Apple products in a way that would make hundreds of millions of devices vulnerable. While the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)