[aNoob7000]

I want to add that they are scanning your property without your permission. The crazy part is that the government can't do this with a warrant or probable cause, but Apple decided that it can and will.

Amazing that Apple destroyed their image about "Privacy" in minutes.

[api]

I really wonder about their motives for this. It really has destroyed their image to the point that I'm thinking about abandoning the platform if nothing changes.

This will not just be about CP. In many countries this will instantly be used to detect any kind of dissent. In the US it will take longer, but eventually I can imagine "misinformation" as determined by some stupid algorithm flagging you for quiet social credit style lists. What constitutes misinformation will change with the political winds.

Hey... maybe we can let people select which reality they wish to be enforced! Maybe Republicans can get flagged if they spread memes about universal health care while Democrats can be flagged for discussing LGBT rights!

The only thing I can imagine is that Apple is facing enormous pressure from behind the scenes to become part of the panopticon. Private companies can't really resist governments.

[heavyset_go]

> This will not just be about CP. In many countries this will instantly be used to detect any kind of dissent. In the US it will take longer, but eventually I can imagine "misinformation" as determined by some stupid algorithm flagging you for quiet social credit style lists. What constitutes misinformation will change with the political winds.

In the US, there are over 70,000 overdose deaths a year[1], and that number has increased dramatically each year.

If Apple is already scanning photos and messages, why not save 70,000+ lives while they're at it by detecting heroin and fentanyl dealers, too?

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/index.html

[oceanghost]

What I wonder is-- are child pornographers really by and large storing these materials on iCloud or on their phones at all?

I think you're correct, this is the thin end of the wedge for something else entirely.

[api]

This is the thin end of a wedge even if it isn't intended to be. Rights need to be strictly defined for a reason.

I personally believe that we had an attempted fascist coup in the USA in January of this year. I know a lot of people disagree. If you disagree imagine that the defeated POTUS had been someone to the left of Bernie Sanders and a bunch of militia members wearing "Lenin was Right" shirts and carrying nooses and zip ties had stormed the capitol to stop the vote from being counted. What would you call that? (I'd call it the same thing.)

The next attempted coup will not be so incompetent. That totalitarian regime will inherit everything we are building today.

If you're on the other side of the aisle, imagine that the next attempted coup is indeed a radical leftist. That's by no means impossible. If the economic divide continues to worsen in this country it may not matter if they are "right" or "left" as long as they are passing out torches and pitchforks. I could see a large fraction of the MAGA crowd turning red in the more classic commie sense if they were promised jobs, affordable housing, and... well... someone to make America great again.

[Scaevolus]

Not that anyone reads them, but every cloud storage EULA has a clause describing how they may remove content at will, especially if it is illegal. That's their justification for why this scanning is happening on photos that are being uploaded to iCloud, and not simply all photos on every device.

https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/icloud/

> Apple reserves the right at all times to determine whether Content is appropriate and in compliance with this Agreement, and may screen, move, refuse, modify and/or remove Content at any time, without prior notice and in its sole discretion, if such Content is found to be in violation of this Agreement or is otherwise objectionable.

[aNoob7000]

I have no problem with Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.. Removing and reporting illegal content from their servers. My issue is with Apple doing it on your device or machine.

When did Apple become law enforcement?

[zepto]

> I want to add that they are scanning your property without your permission.

This is a false statement. Scanning is opt-in.

[salawat]

Allow it or don't buy our product is a fairly disingenuous take on "opt-in".

[zepto]

> Allow it or don't buy our product is a fairly disingenuous take on "opt-in".

That’s not how it works.

The only thing it affects is iCloud Photo Library. There are numerous competitors you can choose from if you want a cloud photo library, and nothing prevents you from just keeping your photos on device or exporting them to a PC or Mac.