Technology

Author seems like an ass. Oh how dare Apple encrypt its users data instead of allowing it to be scanned by a third party tool. Maybe you should target the publicly exposed pedophile ring instead of trying to further destroy everyone’s privacy.

Apple U-turned on its efforts to scan for CSAM in its cloud storage. Instead, Apple implemented end-to-end encryption for iCloud files.

Those are two entirely unrelated things! Author is making it sound like a conspiracy!

Also author links to apple.fandom.com as a source for NeuralHash. Yes, really.

Forcing Apple to scan for CSAM in iCloud means breaking end-to-end encryption for everyone and all purposes, including: malefactors who would intercept private files for criminal purposes; and government actors who have repeatedly shown that they will break into, distribute, and weaponize privately stored file caches (I was just thinking about the North Korea Sony hack. Remember it?).

Do I even need to say anything here? Besides go fuck yourself (after sending me your passwords), Eric Goldman.

Am I the only one that finds it ridiculous, non-E2E encrypted cloud storage isn't protected from mass-scanning (against opaque cryptographic hashes)? Just because one technically could, and "nothing in the law prevents" a provider from doing so, or a legal basis is explicitly being provided (in case of the EU's Chat Control), doesn't mean one should. You're still preemptively scanning private content, and it should be irrelevant whether or not it's encrypted.

I've frequently criticized Apple in the past, but I can't do anything other than praising them for dodging this privacy-nightmare; unlike services provided by the likes of Google or Meta, that actively encourage the use of unencrypted options by default, while happily "volunteering" in case of the EU's Chat Control.

funny, i seem to remember apple's on-device scanning being extremely overzealous a few years ago.