APPLE TRIES TO DUCK STORM OVER CHILD PORN, REMOTE IPHONE SURVEILLANCE
So Apple is really, really good at marketing how much they protect peoples’ privacy. But the reality couldn’t be more different. And the company decided to ignore obvious marketing pitfalls when it announced its plans to engage in remote surveillance of users iPhones for child porn. It’s safe to say they thought no one would really decry efforts to protect children from sexual predators. But unfortunately for Apple, most people seem to understand how this move would open a veritable Pandora’s Box, destroying privacy as a norm. Apple seems to have realized the fallout would be too large and is now trying to duck the reactive storm to remote iPhone surveillance.
Read More: American Kids Watching So Much Peppa Pig, It’s Changing Their Accents
OPENING THE DOOR TO REMOTE IPHONE SURVEILLANCE FOR CHILD PORN OPENS PANDORA’S BOX FOR PRIVACY
So what did this remote iPhone child porn surveillance plan entail? Well, the idea is about matching photos to signatures from known child abuse images. In other words, if any photos on your iPhone match up with images authorities have identified to be child porn, and traded by sexual predators or child porn purveyors. The idea to combat child porn is eminently laudable. But opening the door to remote scanning of people’s pictures, on their iPhones, is a horrible idea. Once that database goes live, it’s theoretically available to government agencies, never mind bad actors. Just imagine people’s private pictures somehow getting into the wild, with the potential for destructive embarrassment or blackmail.
Related: Really? 20% of Americans Still Believe Covid Vaccines Have Tracking Microchips
“SCREECHING” MINORTIY OF PROTEST QUICKLY INCLUDED APPLE STAFF, FORCING APPLE TO “PAUSE” PLANS
When Apple first announced the idea for remote iPhone surveillance, they dismissed criticism as coming from the “screeching” minority. But then Apple employees joined the screech, and Apple watched its unusually strong reputation for user privacy disappear in an instant. So the company is now “pausing” its plans to remote scan iPhones for child porn signatures. As it is, iCloud Mail and (likely) iCloud storage are already under surveillance for child porn. While I’m ambivalent about that, I don’t want anyone opening the door to the remote surveillance of my iPhone’s file directory. Even if they’re just stupid pictures of my pets. Let’s hope this remote iPhone surveillance push disappears.
