[nicce]

> Apple is normalizing scanning your private phone for files and reporting them.

”Antivirus cries in corner as forgotten...”

I know, iOS has no build-in AV (like MacOS) but still, it is a bit laughable that many existing tools provides this same power, and only now it is a concern. On a black box system. I am resilent, and I will join into mass of pitchforks and torches only when there is actual evidence of them expanding their promises or using these features for something else they are meant. They knew the risks when bringing this feature and know the cost when it is proved to be misused.

[ianmiers]

yes, you can turn AV into the same thing. But no one has been advocating for that or passing laws that would make AV both mandatory and have to report you to the police.

This has been going on for CSAM scanning for a while now. The latest version was called the EARN IT act [0]

The argument is not this is a slippery slope where you might miss step. IF that was the case, yes AV would be analogous. Instead, its that people are actively trying to push you into the spikes at the bottom of the pit, don't build things at the edge of the pit where the handrail is a pinky promise not to let others push you.

[0] https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2020/03/06/earn-it-...

[nicce]

> don't build things at the edge of the pit where the handrail is a pinky promise not to let others push you.

People are afraid, that the use of these tools are expanded in secret (hidden) for more than they should. From that point of view, legislation motives and discussion does not matter, because capability is valid for many tools at any moment, hence same speculation has applied before.

However, if you want to apply surveillance publicly, then we indeed need legal base for pushing specified tools as mandatory. To expand it for more than CSAM, it will be quite slow process, and implementing something like that publicly before legal base is path for descruction for any company, because people can change for other company.

Is Apple now making that legal process faster?

While it feels like Apple is now closer to the edge of the pit, from techical perpective there is no difference yet. Tools have existed and system is closed source. Question is still the same; ”would you spy for us”? I don’t think that answer has changed from Apple because they changed the location of the image scan.

So, the question is, will legislation change towards more surveillance. Whatever the result is, I think it would have happened whether Apple added this feature or not, as it is not morale excuse. People find the way. In China, it is simply illegal to not install some app by muslims.