Bipartisan politicians in the United States are pressing the head of the surveillance court in the United Kingdom to hold an open hearing on Apple’s planned challenge to a purportedly secret legal demand from the U.K. government.
In a letter to the head of the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) last week, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and four other federal lawmakers stated that it is “in the public interest” that any proceedings about the purported order not be conducted in secret.
Additionally, according to the senators’ letter, the purported U.K. order has prevented California-based Apple from using speech that is “constitutionally protected” under U.S. law and has hindered the lawmakers’ capacity to carry out legislative oversight.
