LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Apple has filed a new legal challenge against the United Kingdom (UK) government’s latest attempt to gain access to users’ encrypted data, the US tech giant confirmed to AFP on Monday.

The dispute stems from a UK government demand that Apple create a “backdoor” to let authorities snoop on data uploaded by Apple users if required, for example by law enforcement agencies.

“As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” Apple said in a statement from September, re-shared with AFP on Monday.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the legal appeal, first reported by the Financial Times, but declined to comment further.

The UK government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US media reported last year that the UK had requested access to encrypted data uploaded by any Apple user around the world.

The demand sparked tensions between London and Washington, ultimately prompting the UK to drop its request for global access, then-US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said on X in August 2025.

The FT reported in October that London had instead requested Apple for access to its British users’ encrypted data — the focus of Apple’s latest legal challenge.

Many tech platforms pride themselves on being able to guarantee privacy through encryption of messages and other content, and providing access to law enforcement has long been seen as off-limits.

Apple stopped offering its most advanced encryption feature — known as Advanced Data Protection — for British users in February 2025.

ADP ensures that only account holders can view content such as photos and documents stored in the cloud through end-to-end encryption.

Police officials worldwide say encryption can shield criminals, terrorists and pornographers from prosecution even when authorities have a legal warrant for an investigation.

But civil rights and privacy advocates, along with many cybersecurity professionals, praise data encryption as a way to protect against wrongful snooping by authorities as well as hackers.