Google's silence on UK encryption demands spells wider trouble for users

Senator Ron Wyden has written a letter to the Director of National Intelligence revealing that Google has refused to deny receiving a technical capability notice from the UK government. This is exactly the response Apple gave before it was revealed that the iPhone maker had been served with a notice.

For those unaware, a technical capability notice is a secret legal order under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act that can force a company to undermine its encryption and provide backdoor access to user content. Due to the secrecy around these notices, companies are legally prohibited from disclosing their existence.

In response to the notice, Apple withdrew its Advanced Data Protection service from the UK and is now challenging the order in a tribunal. Now with the suspected notice given to Google, it suggests that the UK is systematically trying to access users’ encrypted messages, rather than targeting one-off services.

The Open Rights Group said in a statement that Google’s refusal is “extremely worrying for Android users who rely on encryption for their privacy and security.” Google’s influence extends to billions of Android devices globally, many of which use Google’s service for default encryption.

Regarding the UK going after Apple, Liberty, an advocacy group, said that the move set a global precedent where other governments might try to make similar moves. This becomes even more problematic in repressive countries where the disclosure of data may lead to a long prison sentence or the death penalty in the worst cases.

It’s also not clear what encrypted services would be affected, presumably any end-to-end encrypted chats would be a prime target, but any other encrypted offerings from Google may be affected too.

The Open Rights Group is currently fundraising for an intervention in the legal case, as a fierce critic of things like the Investigatory Powers Act. Interestingly, there’s also political pressure from the US mounting on the UK government which may make the government back off.

Source: Open Rights Group | Image via Depositphotos.com

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 5:52 pm AEST (my time).

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