People should really stop using this “conspiracy theory” as a reason for Apple to not scan for CSAM in a privacy-preserving fashion. There are way too many “hot takes” that don’t take into account any legal ramifications of their “what if” scenarios.
I appreciate Apple’s design here, and I think that there’s an overreaction to it.
This is probably the best design we have so far for something that everyone else is already doing, and I give Apple credit for going to greater lengths to preserve privacy.
But the “just trust us, we only want to do good things and we will be ruined if you ever catch us doing bad things” rationale doesn’t help. In fact it sends me right back into protest every time I’ve seen it posted.
There will not be legal ramifications for “what if” scenarios. Not enough to prevent abuse.
Especially if these would be the same (weak) legal ramifications that prevent people from being wrongfully accused of murder, arrested for peaceful protest, or bank accounts frozen on baseless suspicion of fraud or terrorism.
From the same government that has treated legitimate political beliefs and entire religions as terrorism.
If the core defense is that I should just trust that NCMEC exists for a single purpose, will never be manipulated or expand outside that purpose, and is completely uninterested in carrying out any other agenda, then that defense has already lost.
Because that exact scenario has already occurred with other government agencies.
And suggesting that NCMEC is somehow at such a disadvantage in power that Apple has a choice to say “no” (and that Apple will do so at even the slightest hint of impropriety) and that alone will bring NCMEC and all of the good work they do crashing down?
I bought this reasoning fully with the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretaps. I had no doubt these things were being used to do good and prevent deaths, and I’m sure they have.
But I have also since seen enough to know that short term good will was paid for by the long term ruining of innocent lives, and racial profiling that continues to this day.
I’m not interested in supporting that again.
I’m good with “Apple is trying to steer this in a more privacy respecting direction” and “this introduces a new avenue in which NCMEC introduces more checks and balances by having third parties double check their work”.
I’m saying this as someone who is torn about this issue.
But the “separate government organization that will absolutely not bend to pressure and will suffer legal consequences if they do, JUST TRUST US KTHX” reasoning already has such strong precedence of being proven false, it only works against your case.
People should really stop using this “conspiracy theory” as a reason for Apple to not scan for CSAM in a privacy-preserving fashion. There are way too many “hot takes” that don’t take into account any legal ramifications of their “what if” scenarios.