Re:Apple's child protection features spark concern within it...
by sneak on Friday August 13, 2021 @07:58AM
(#28167848)
They're doing it clientside so that they can do it for images and files that aren't ever sent off the device.
I am increasingly convinced this is a backroom deal, just like the iCloud Backup e2e feature (designed and, as I understand it, partially implemented) being nixed on demand (but not legal compulsion) from the FBI.
If you get big enough, the 1A doesn't apply to you anymore.
The iMessage thing is actual spyware, by design, it is a way for parents to spy on their children, which is fine as long as it is a choice and the parents are in control. And that's the case here.
The iCloud thing is much more restrictive, comparing hashes of pictures before you send them to Apple servers. For some reason, they do it client side and not server side. AFAIK, iCloud photos are not E2E encrypted so I don't really know why they are doing it that way when everyone else does it server-side.
But combine the news and it sounds like Apple is using AI to scan all your pictures. Which is not true. Unless you are a child and still under your parents authority, it will only compare hashes of picture you send in the cloud, no fancy AI here, and it is kind of understandable for Apple not to want to host child porn.