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Discussion on: What is Apple thinking?

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maxart2501 profile image
Massimo Artizzu

I'm very concerned.

Of course they said a lot of things to reassure people, like:

  • it's only for CSAM images;
  • only for iCloud images;
  • only against a secure database of hashes;
  • they'll refuse to add other kinds of hashes;
  • only in the USA.

I must notice that this system is only going to catch dumb criminals, who may well opt for other, more private ways to exchange their stuff. So I'm unsure if this will do any good... But if it catches one, is all good, right?

Well, not really. The point is: we must rely on Apple's good will to keep things like that. They can remove any of the above limitations at any moment. The tool can potentially scan anything on the phone.

And I can give Apple the benefit of the doubt, so I'm sure they don't want to steer away from their intentions, but what if they are forced to do so? Are they just going to say "no"?

What if country A tells Apple: "Enable your scanning thing here and use this database of hashes instead, or else pay this huge fine and/or be booted from our market"? Easy abuse of a system born with good intentions.

Remember how China has been oppressing the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region? They install a scanning malware in their phones.

So it's not just a slippery slope, it's a shaky step covered in grease.

Now I'll explain the worst case scenario: Apple developed this technology because they've actually been asked to. And we'll probably never know the commissioners, even if we can have our suspects.

The system might actually be active outside the US, for what we know. Or the US version could be a large scale test, prior to a world wide release.

All this leads me to think that if a company that used to shout "what's in your phone, stays in your phone" proudly, ends up dismissing all the controversy as "screeching minority", it's pretty clear that they don't value privacy because they love human rights, but because it's just a flag to wave exclusively for marketing purposes.

We don't need this.