The UK government’s clandestine directive to Apple, requiring the company to create a backdoor in the end-to-end encrypted version of its iCloud storage service, has been contested by two prominent civil rights organizations, Liberty and Privacy International. On Thursday, they submitted complaints, deeming the order “unacceptable and disproportionate” and cautioning of “global consequences” as the access order is believed to apply to non-UK users as well.

The duo, alongside two individuals, Privacy International’s executive director Gus Hosein and civil liberties advocate Ben Wizner, have engaged law firm Leigh Day to challenge Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to serve Apple with a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA). The existence of this secret order only came to light through recent press reports.

According to a press release, “Privacy International and Liberty fear that this TCN, or similar notices in the future, could be utilized to compromise end-to-end encryption, which is essential for safeguarding privacy and free expression.”

Apple has already filed a legal challenge to the TCN, with its appeal scheduled to be heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), the body responsible for overseeing complaints against UK intelligence agencies. Both civil rights groups, as well as Hosein and Wizner, claim to be direct victims of the government’s TCN decision and have requested that their complaints be combined with Apple’s.

They are also advocating for the case to be heard in public, rather than behind closed doors, echoing previous calls from privacy rights groups. The IPT hearing is expected to take place today, Friday, March 14.