It is not a choice if it is stated that there is a security flaw and that you have to update to IOS 15 etc. to effect a safeguard to that flaw, real or otherwise.
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Apple Outlines Security and Privacy of CSAM Detection System in New Document
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Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Agreed. 100%
This (obviously) is what is actually happening, but not what Apple had been selling.
Apple had been saying they were not gonna look at your stuff, because they believe privacy is a basic human right.
Which is why a safety deposit box is a better analogy than a house. The bank that built the box and stores the box cannot look IN the box. Apple's the bank.
In the US, law enforcement needs to find evidence that shows probable cause, and then have to convince a judge to produce a warrant so that a law enforcement officer, NOT the bank, can compel you to produce the key so that law enforcement can look in the box.
So Apple has come out of the closet, so to speak, at best as a hypocrite and at worst a liar. They know this, which is why they're backpedaling hard.
Just not in the right direction.
Whether or not I upload to iCloud, the database of child porn hashes exists as part of the OS install. Nobody has stated how much of my storage will be taken to store that database. Data that I must store that provides no benefit to me to support a feature that also has no benefit to me.
If you install iOS 15, then you agreeing that you are allowing Apple to use the software it owns to
Bit of a slippery-slope, there...
Oh, that makes sense. Its a check on an over reach from a government? So we will run it by another government.
2 things: #1 i dont want a foreign government to have jurisdiction over me
#2 if this is to comply with supposed US regulations then Apple will be in violation of that rule as they are deferring to an ineligible entity.
the easier solution is to not search my phone without a warrant
If your device supports the iOS version that came with it for >= 24 months, then you should be fine with this. It is up to you to install iOS 15, or not.
Thankfully I can’t see a similar implementation ever being possible in the E.U. No way you'll get every nation to approve.
Technically, it is still a choice, unless they brick your phone if you don't upgrade. In any case, precedent shows that older OS versions get security updates for several years before being completely deprecated.
The OS version you have today is not being changed. If you don't agree with the new agreement, then you can choose to not update your phone.
This doesn't work because no reasonable person would assume that iCloud is off their device. They assume iCloud is an extension of their device since the service is included in the purchase of the device.
#1 --- this doesn't give any government jurisdiction over you. This seems to be a way for Apple to protect this from being abused from tyrannical jurisdictions trying to spy on their citizens. Unless all countries agree to it, then Apple won't update their CSAM database.
#2 --- they're not deferring to anyone --- the check is happening locally, this multi-jurisdiction agreement has to do with what exactly they are checking against, so all the arguments of "Russia will do this" or "China will do this" or "the US will do this" fall flat. That is, unless every government agrees with each other for once.
If Apple has to open a file on my phone, then it is an invasion of privacy. And they are. They have to. You cannot generate a hash without reading the 1's and 0's of a file.
And that logic works so long as I can pick feature updates individually or I am refunded since I already paid for iOS 15 and there was no reason to suspect that my privacy would be compromised.
I feel a lot of folks in these kinds of threads are wearing more tinfoil hats than anything I have seen. Even when Google scans your private emails its not this much conspiracy driven
So lets see
Again, this answer is entirely based on if you view from conspiracy angle or practical angle. Apple has stated that it does not want to scan iCloud libraries because that is more intrusive than scanning hashes locally one by one as opposed to all the files in iCloud. Again, personally I trust their word on this from a technical perspective than most security experts who are looking at it from a functional perspective
So lets see
Is Apple creating a backdoor to Government ?
This Answer is entirely based on how you view it through practical angle or conspiracy angle. e.g. I trust Apple so I dont believe they are creating a backdoor and technology wise Its not a backdoor either because a Backdoor means Government having Keys to Secure Enclave even with iCloud Off, so logically it cannot be a back door if the hashes scanned locally is same as on iCloud and even if Apple wants it, the scope cannot be expanded due to Secure EnclaveIs Apple scanning images on your Phone before it starts uploading to iCloud
No, Apple is scanning HASHES or images not the images themselves when the transition starts FROM your Phone to iCloud. For example. The scan of the image hash will not occur if your internet is off because the upload has not begun as per documentationCan Apple expand the categories for types of hashes to scan for iCloud Photos?
Again, this answer is entirely based on how you view it. From a conspiracy angle or practice angle. Apple has stated that they will not and I trust their word. Else I would not be buying their products.Can Apple scan your phone for non-cloud data?
No.Why not scan hashes on iCloud servers alone like other tech companies ?
Again, this answer is entirely based on if you view from conspiracy angle or practical angle. Apple has stated that it does not want to scan iCloud libraries because that is more intrusive than scanning hashes locally one by one as opposed to all the files in iCloud. Again, personally I trust their word on this from a technical perspective than most security experts who are looking at it from a functional perspective
To be fair, I have never assumed iCloud is an extension of my device. I could be in the minority, I really don't know.
You don't have to upload them to a server. Apple's spyware (and that's what it is) reads the 1's and 0's of the file while it's on your device. If a match is found, it is flagged when/if the image is uploaded to iCloud.
Apple cannot be held legally liable for possessing those images on their servers. They have an exemption through Section 230.
Apple's own account shows where the software is, and on what platform the checks take place? Its on YOUR hardware, not in iCloud. The software is not on iCloud, it will be on your device using your hardware that you own,, that you pay the electricity bill for, that you pay your internet supplier for etc. etc.
A few years back courts took a view that emails on a server were not necessarily private, whereas emails on a device at home were, and on occasions it meant no court order was required to get details of information stored on a server, hence many people immediately delete email from servers.
Technically and legally it would have been much easier if Apple had suggested that checks on child photos were taking place in iCloud as its their servers (or Googles) and left the operating systems alone, as there is literally no need for that unless it is FOR SURVEILLANCE. So why didn't they just have iCloud check rather than via our hardware, using our processing power, our electricity and equipment we have paid for outright?
On their own servers they could legally do that as they own them and their terms and conditions would apply and then it would be a choice for users as to whether to use iCloud or not, but I don't see this latest situation helping them sell iCloud+ and absolutely the wrong move to make it part of operating system on devices they have sold to consumers, especially on their privacy platform.
However they have chosen to enact SURVEILLANCE via software embedded in our hardware. Hardware we have paid for, we pay for electricity for, and on the basis of a performance not curtailed by surveillance, surveillance that will not help the fight against child abuse anyway, as they've telegraphed how to avoid being caught, making the whole system a complete farce.
Then they've been invading your privacy all along. Everything you do on your device is processed by Apple's iOS, which reads the 1's and 0's of all your files.
Honest question: could you point me to the TOS that says when you buy an Apple device, you're paying for the OS updates?
Considering the number of people who got upset about chargers and earbuds being removed from new devices I think we can safely assume that people include more than just the handset when considering what comes with their purchase.
Apple appears to be working hard in the damage control sector.
Apple can tell your aunt's name is Mary when it scans your images to match facial . Where was your outrage then?
you can say that data who your aunt is based on photos is known only to you but the TECH is ON your device since a long time ago.
NOW, Apple is scanning iCloud image hashes locally and only communicating with Apple if more than 30 images hashes 100% match CSAM
If you want to do all those mental gymnastics to say you're "paying" for iOS 15, then I can't stop you 🤣 In any case, it's a moot point. If you're no longer happy with the entire "bundle" you purchased, then no one is stopping you from selling your iPhone and moving on to greener pastures. Put your money where your mouth is. Apple has every right to do what they're doing. YOU are the one who agreed to that when you (most likely) failed to read any of the legal stuff you tapped "agree" to. If you're truly this paranoid about things, you should have read every word of those documents before agreeing to them.