A new court document suggests that the British government made more far-reaching demands of Apple than previously known. Accordingly, the Home Office's attempt targeted not only the Advanced Data Protection encryption feature but also the standard iCloud service – and that globally.

The document, published by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), describes the "assumed facts" on which the proceedings are to be heard at the beginning of next year. Apple officially filed a complaint in March after the Home Office served the company with a Technical Capability Notice (TCN). Due to the Investigatory Powers Act, Apple is not allowed to publicly discuss its contents.

Already in February, the iPhone manufacturer reacted and withdrew the optional end-to-end encryption for British customers. But according to the IPT ruling, the order "was not limited to ADP," but included the disclosure of entire data categories from cloud backups, including messages or passwords.

Particularly Explosive: The commitments are "not limited to the United Kingdom or its users" but apply globally to all iCloud customers. This essentially means London claims access to data from US users as well, which recently led to tensions with Washington. The Trump administration stated last week that London had withdrawn its initiative. The new information casts doubt on this.

The Investigatory Powers Act applies extraterritorially and has been referred to by critics for years as a "snooper's charter." Proponents point to its benefits in the fight against terrorism and child abuse. Whether the Home Office has since restricted the scope of the order remains unclear.