Aug 26th, 2021 - Category: Apple
Do we really need yet another article on Apple’s “Disaster in the Making” or how Apple just gave “millions of users a reason to quit their iPhones?” Maybe it would be more useful to write about “how few who have passed comment understand Apple’s proposals?” But why trust third party explanations when you can read Apple’s own announcement of the why’s and how’s of what they call “Expanded Protections for Children?” Clearly even Apple doesn’t think this is enough because there are ten more references at the end of this announcement including a six page Frequently Asked Questions document and a 14 page technical analysis, “Security Threat Model Review of Apple’s Child Safety Features.”
If you don’t have time to read all this, here is my summary. First, the part where Messages are scanned for explicit photos works “only on images sent or received in the Messages app for child accounts set up in Family Sharing” while “keeping private communications unreadable by Apple.” Second, the controversial “scanning for photos on a device” will ONLY occur if iCloud Photos is turned on and only trigger a match for photos EXACTLY matching prohibited materials. So if you are against scanning for whatever reason, just turn off iCloud Photos.
Don’t think though that Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Flickr, and other online services are not scanning photos. They have been doing this for over a decade. It’s the law in the US and many other countries. Facebook alone reported twenty million violations last year. If you don’t believe me, the experts at the “Accidental Tech Podcast” explained it well at the 53 minute mark. Apple itself has been scanning iCloud email for prohibited photos since 2019 so why the fury now? This article from 9to5Mac simply titled “CSAM” has a good summary “But the outrage was entirely predictable, given the years Apple has spent touting its privacy credentials.”
It has gotten so contentious that Craig Federighi, a Senior Vice President at Apple, gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal to try to re-re-explain why Apple is doing this now and so publicly.
Still the deluge of articles continue, with some of my favorites being:
- “Here’s Why Apple’s New Child Safety Features Are So Controversial” - A great interview of two experts in the field by The Verge (the last five minutes are especially good).
- “Apple Defends iPhone Photo Scanning, Calls It An “Advancement” in Privacy” - ArsTechnica
- “Apple’s New ‘Child Safety’ Initiatives, and the Slippery Slope” - By Apple expert John Gruber
And of course, the requisite Reddit posts like this and this with thousands of comments each.
So how should I bring this article to a close? Should I condemn Apple for trespassing where they promised they wouldn’t? Or should I applaud Apple for taking a stand that protects vulnerable children while still maintaining privacy? Can I fall back on Apple’s incredibly detailed and thoughtful technical solutions and say “well, it’s for the best?” I’ve thought about this situation for weeks now, going back and forth, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no “right” answer. Companies change, governments change, public perception changes, everything changes over time and this might be the least “bad” solution the experts at Apple can come up with at the moment. They have certainly risked their incredibly valuable reputation for privacy on this issue. As the old saying goes, “If you’re going to be bad, you can’t just be a little bad.” Google and Facebook are making billions on the privacy sacrifices their users’ make and they have never faced scrutiny of this magnitude. The good news is that if Apple’s actions still bother you, just turn off iCloud Photos, there are certainly alternatives. Of course you can always switch to Android, but have fun protecting your privacy there.