WhatsApp Supports Apple In Legal Battle With UK Government – Silicon UK

The head of WhatsApp, the widely used messaging platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms, has strongly backed Apple in its legal battle with the UK government. Speaking to the BBC, WhatsApp’s Will Cathcart reportedly said the case “could set a dangerous precedent” by “emboldening other nations” to seek to break encryption. The legal battle between Apple and the Home Office is due to the controversial UK Investigatory Powers Act of 2016 (otherwise known as the “Snoopers’ Charter”), which authorises UK law enforcement to compel assistance from tech companies when needed to collect evidence, even when data is encrypted. Apple TCN The issue began in February 2025 when UK security officials had issued a secret order called a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) that effectively ordered Apple to create a backdoor that would allow them to retrieve the encrypted content of any Apple user worldwide that has been uploaded to its iCloud service. The “Technical Capability Notice” requires blanket access, rather than just assistance to access a specific account. This British request immediately triggered privacy and security concerns, and two US lawmakers, wrote to US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, asking her to demand the UK retracts its order. Tulsi Gabbard
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