Last month, Apple announced it would introduce a child protection feature. But soon a controversy arose in which many protested the feature.
Because one of the controversial features is the user photo scanner for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). This feature was criticized because it was considered to reduce user privacy. The changes are planned to be rolled out at the end of 2021.
"Last month we announced plans for a feature intended to help protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them, and limit the spread of CSAM," Apple said in a statement. /2021).
"Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to gather feedback and make improvements before releasing this critically important child safety feature."
The Apple release details three major changes. One is on Search and Siri which points to resources preventing CSAM if the user is looking for related information.
Second, there are changes that are under more significant scrutiny. Someone will warn parents when their child receives or sends sexually explicit photos and blurs out those images for children.
The third is to scan images stored in iCloud for CSAM and report them to Apple moderators. You can then refer the report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Apple ensures that the photo scanning system in iCloud will not compromise users' privacy.
In short, the system will only scan photos stored on the iOS device's iCloud and will assess those photos together with the CSAS image hash database and are known to NCMEC and other child safety organizations.
However, many privacy and security experts were highly critical of Apple for the new system. The reason is if the surveillance system on the device and violates the trust that users place in Apple to protect privacy on the device.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement on Aug. 5 that while the system was well-intentioned, it would break the promise of encryption keys and open the door to broader breaches.
"Apple compromised the phone you and I have and the operation. Without any of us having a say in this matter," explains Ben Thompson of Stratechery.
