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How's that relevant? The issue is not where the data is physically stored. The issue is whether governments can potentially, maybe, perhaps collude with Apple to make this a precedent for abuse.

But why would they use the CSAM detection system?

Your iPhone already has much better technology for helping governments catching people they don't like.
 
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Catching criminals and creating criminals with just one data miner on your phone. Local government corporations exempt from legal restrictions? We would have no privacy. If there is no privacy, we have no chance as a free society. Who will you complain to if you have no food or water? Who will save you? Your government? The corporation? That isn't their job is it. Speaking up for yourself is OUR job. Preventing loss of liberty is OUR job. Protecting your privacy is OUR job. Feeding yourself and those without is OUR job.

There will always be disgusting criminal activity. Making everyone a suspect makes hiding so much easier for the real criminals. Believing what the media or the people taking your money say is a recipe for oppression.

This is a bad idea on so many levels. I want the criminals caught as much as everyone else, maybe more, I can't possibly know that. But get upset when your possessions can be turned against you openly.
 
It’s for people like you with a closed mind that we lose privacy, don’t you get at any moment someone or even Apple can put new hashes to get info for any other activity beside save the children....

Have you thought about all the nefarious things Apple can do with the Camera app and the Photos app together with your location data?

That's a much better technology for looking for people performing certain kinds of activities.
 
Dear MozMan68, you do not have the right to defame another human being so you need to let Apple send hashed recordings of all of your conversations to their database of encrypted defamation phrases.
Dear jntdroid, merely stating someone doesn’t have the right to do something doesn’t imply that they have done or will actually do it…nice try, Judge.
 
The problem is not that they are doing this for CSAM images. It's well intentioned. The problem is the backdoor that they've opened.

Imagine this scenario. The FBI is trying to find someone very specific. They contact Apple but Apple holds its ground and gives a firm "No". Fine right? Do you think the FBI will stop there? No of course not, they will go to the NCMEC and have them upload a set of images. Chances are, they won't even bother with Apple, they'll go directly to the NCMEC and start finding people of interest.

Now replace FBI with another country's government. Say, the China, and the pictures are sets of pictures from the Hong Kong protestors.

Now replace China with a bunch of hackers who hack the NCMEC.

Lots of things can go wrong here

It seems you don't know what's going on here. The database is already under government ownership and control and has legal regulations on it! If FBI did what you suggested it would probably be a federal crime.

Also, there is an much easier way to catch Hong Kong protestors than this system: Photos app together with location data.
 
To be fair, the scanning is done on your phone.

That's true.

And scanning is different than transmitting. So nothing is leaving your phone.

UNLESS... a photo on your phone is accurately hashed against a piece of known CSAM imagery. In which case the proper steps are taken.

Makes sense to me.

But people are still worried about the "what if?" scenarios. If Apple is willing to do this... what about that?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
It's very bothersome issue. I have in the last 2 months had two very bad experiences with Apples customer service. My iPad and denial of being fixed with AppleCare+, then getting triple billed for Apple One this week. I had to send proof their system didn't show it. They will not charge me the next two months... claimed a refunded could cause problems with my account. 2.5 hours wasted. I have over 11k in devices and software, and apps. Now this.... I dunno Apple I really don't. I wonder if all the political crap and this privacy breach would have happened under Jobs?
 
That's true.

And scanning is different than transmitting. So nothing is leaving your phone.

UNLESS... a photo on your phone is accurately hashed against a piece of known CSAM imagery. In which case the proper steps are taken.

Makes sense to me.

But people are still worried about the "what if?" scenarios. If Apple is willing to do this... what about that?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Still not “unless”…marked images are only “flagged” once uploaded to iCloud. If you store all of your images on your phone and do not use iCloud (for storage or to share across devices), no one ever knows the image was even marked.
 
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Apple has installed a scanner on your devices that will consume hundreds of gigs of data doing billions of checks

You mean like the Photos app which will scan all your photos and is so resource hungry it does almost all the scanning when connected to power and you aren't using the device.

It's a good thing the neural engine in the A14 can perform 11 000 billion operations per second if the phone has to do billions of checks.

If you had read and understood Apples technical explanation you would have known that the system will occupy very little space on the iPhone, maybe as little as under 10Mb but probably no more than 100Mb.
 
Still not “unless”… marked images are only “flagged” once uploaded to iCloud. If you store all of your images on your phone and do not use iCloud (for storage or to share across devices), no one ever knows the image was even marked.

Exactly.

People are still freaking out about this, though.
 
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Dear jntdroid, merely stating someone doesn’t have the right to do something doesn’t imply that they have done or will actually do it…nice try, Judge.

Tooldog stated Apple doesn't have the right to examine his device. Your response (rebuttal?) to him was that he doesn't have the right to maintain or transmit child pornography. Your response to him was based on the exact same premise to which you just criticized me. So... 🤷‍♂️
 
Just another reason to start shopping for an Android. I'm all for punishing child sexual abusers, but this is way out of line. So when your kids grab your phone and start taking pictures of your 3 year old hugging a full-sized doll, is this what will get flagged? No thanks!
This would only work if that photo is already in a database of confirmed CSAM photos, so no, that photo would not be flagged whatsoever.

Funny how people have no idea what’s being done, but they’re upset about it anyway.
 
Could governments force Apple to add non-CSAM images to the hash list?
Apple will refuse any such demands…

Yeah, well, the NCMEC (as being well-connected to the government) may not.

Once the hash is in the database, it becomes merely a question of having an entry (exploit) into the user’s device to check for any matches. The three-letter agencies probably have that already - or will buy it (such as Pegasus).

The database has existed since 1999. There are strict rules and regulations regarding its use. Even a privacy policy I believe.

Do you have any evidence it has been misused in the last 22 years to catch non-CSAM crimes?
 
Tooldog stated Apple doesn't have the right to examine his device. Your response (rebuttal?) to him was that he doesn't have the right to maintain or transmit child pornography. Your response to him was based on the exact same premise to which you just criticized me. So... 🤷‍♂️
You and he both implied I was accusing him for having filth (in his words) or in your words “defaming” him To the point where legal action could be taken.

I did no such thing and simply stating a fact that having illegal images on one’s phone could get one in trouble does not imply that they do have or will have images like that on their device, even if I was responding directly to his post. Was simply stating a fact.

But if you’d like to speak to my manager about it, I can get her for you…
 
That's helpful, thanks! If you don't mind sharing, what files do you keep there, how well does it integrate into Mac OS and iOS?

I really like how Notes and Photos integrate into iCloud. Trying to understand how I can replace that....perhaps Sinilogy has its own Notes and Photos apps on iOS?

Turn off iCloud Photo Library
Use Google Photos

Your photos might be scanned in the cloud but no on-device scanning.

All other solutions which people are preposing here will make you unhappy. This one might actually work for you.
 
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I think there is an important difference between it being illegal to have an image and an image you have suggesting you you are involved in something illegal.

I'll admit I'm not up to date on what counties state it is illegal to have specific images on your device.

I could have images of drugs and guns on my device, but that isn't illegal to own those images, and it would be impossible to say if because of those images I was doing anything illegal.
I agree with most of your posts. In Australia, I welcome the policy.

But for those in non-democratic counties?

Governments and corporations all over the world bend to pressure from China.
Try and find Taiwan using Maps on a Chinese iPhone.

The Tank Man photo from Tiananmen Sq stands out - control of that single image has helped wipe an atrocity from the living memory of a whole generation.

The image of the young girl fleeing her burning village after a US napalm attack in Vietnam helped change the US public’s view of the war.

I don’t think Apple will ever willingly do that (like they willingly change the name of Taiwan), but they can be legislated to do so… Jinping & Putin don’t seem like the kind of fellas to leave an opportunity on the table.
 
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You and he both implied I was accusing him for having filth (in his words) or in your words “defaming” him To the point where legal action could be taken.

I did no such thing and simply stating a fact that having illegal images on one’s phone could get one in trouble does not imply that they do have or will have images like that on their device, even if I was responding directly to his post. Was simply stating a fact.

But if you’d like to speak to my manager about it, I can get her for you…

Well maybe we misunderstood each other then. I wasn't saying you were defaming him. I was just using that as an example of letting Apple scan your device for something you may or may not be doing.

I also didn't think you were accusing him of having filth on his phone, but rather using an example of something so horrible that Apple is allowed to scan his device for it. Hence my rebuttal that seemed like a less acceptable reason to have your device scanned...
 
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Rigggggggght. If someone like China says you cant sell your devices here unless you give us hashing of mocking of our supreme leader, I'm 100% confident Apple will take the hit and lose billions. NOT.

If China wants to catch people having mocking photos of the leadership in China or finding demonstrants in Hong Kong, the CSAM detection system isn't good for solving that problem.

Your phone already has the technology and the app to that. Today. The Photos app and its face and item recognition features.

Why aren't you worried about that?
 
Turn off iCloud Photo Library

Use Google Photos

Your photos might be scanned in the cloud but no on-device scanning.

But isn't the problem with the scanning itself? Not the location of the scanning?

I don't think "send all your stuff to Google" is a privacy-focused solution.

:p
 
You mean like the Photos app which will scan all your photos and is so resource hungry it does almost all the scanning when connected to power and you aren't using the device.

It's a good thing the neural engine in the A14 can perform 11 000 billion operations per second if the phone has to do billions of checks.

If you had read and understood Apples technical explanation you would have known that the system will occupy very little space on the iPhone, maybe as little as under 10Mb but probably no more than 100Mb.

Does the technical explanation specify whether it uses original photos or optimised photos?

The hundreds of gigs I refer to is if it needs to download my original photos to perform the checks on them locally.
 
Does the technical explanation specify whether it uses original photos or optimised photos?

The hundreds of gigs I refer to is if it needs to download my original photos to perform the checks on them locally.

Is there a difference between scanning the original photo vs an optimised one? Honest question because to me, they would count as the same thing.
 
If China wants to catch people having mocking photos of the leadership in China or finding demonstrants in Hong Kong, the CSAM detection system isn't good for solving that problem.

Your phone already has the technology and the app to that. Today. The Photos app and its face and item recognition features.

Why aren't you worried about that?

Indeed, "why aren't you worried about that"?

The way I see it I go to Apple for two things:
1. Transparency about privacy practices (i.e. "here's what we're doing")
2. Anti-surveillance practices that align with my values (i.e. "Mind your own business", Do Not Track)

I believe what you're asking is "why aren't you worried about #1"?
I don't have a huge issue with Apple on #1. I believe they are transparent in their present actions and do not hide active functionality. With this new CASM policy, Apple is doing a commendable job at #1 by messaging about how it works. I trust Apple to not do this stuff in secret -- unlike Facebook, Google, or Microsoft. Maybe that trust is misplaced. I may not like what they do, and I also may not like what they do in the future, but in terms of trust about the present, I'm good.

However with this new picture scanning scheme, Apple and I clearly no longer agree on point #2.
 
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Is there a difference between scanning the original photo vs an optimised one? Honest question because to me, they would count as the same thing.

Depends how sensitive the perceptual hash is I guess. It’s supposed to not care if a photo is cropped a bit, but optimised photos are basically just thumbnails for when you’re scrolling. My 300GB photos library only uses 4GB on phone. I would be very surprised if the perceptual hashing could work with that.
 
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