Apple will scan photos in the iPhones of user.What about privacy?

Looking at the experience of recent years, it is impossible to draw a bright line between privacy and security.On the one hand, each of us defines privacy differently, and on the other - security can be understood differently by citizens, and for example.by authorities.Often, the tools that were supposed to serve good purposes in their assumptions are used for supervision and control with no safety with safety.However, most people will probably agree that this border in the matter of digital services must be "somewhere" because of the possibilities offered by the global network.Apple has found that in this case the privacy of users is less important than children's safety.

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Apple will search photos in iCloud in search of children's pornography

Yesterday Apple presented a new set of functions for iOS 15 and iPados 15 to help the youngest users use the Internet safely.The functions are m.in.new modes in messengers that will protect the child from contact with the inappropriate content for him.However, a much more important function in my opinion is a module that detects CSAM (Children Sexual Abuse Material), i.e. children's pornography, which can be stored on user iCloud accounts.For this purpose, a special algorithm will study photos on iPhones before sending them to iCloud and compared them with the signatures in the CSAM photos in the database.If the connection is found, the algorithm does not start the alarm immediately, but sends a photo to iCloud with a special, invisible notification for the user that CSAM has been detected.If the number of applications exceeds a certain critical value, an Apple employee enters the action, who verifies whether we are really dealing with such materials, or whether the algorithm was wrong.If he actually detects irregularities, a notification to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is prepared.The function, for now, will operate in the USA.

I think we'll all agree that this is a step in the right direction when it comes to child protection.How about privacy?

The world knows many cases in which a safety solution, for which a very powerful IT system was built and which was to be used "only for a good purpose", turned into a tool for collecting data and control.Such a system was, for example, a PRISM program and a network supervision system built in the United States after September 11.Therefore, while no one denies that the fight against child pornography is very right and in this context - applause Apple, you can not ignore the user's fears that in the future the same mechanism will also be used to scan other content, in particular - materialsunfavorable power.And I'm not talking about the power of our country here.Not so long ago I wrote how much Apple depends, for example.from the Chinese authorities.There are also fears whether in subsequent iOS incarnations such interference in the privacy of users will not go further, e.g..in terms of scanning conversations or eavesdropping on telephone conversations.

Experts calm down.But not as if we wanted it

People associated with cybersecurity share users' fears that the aforementioned system can give Apple the possibility of very deep interference in the privacy of users without their knowledge, which is in contradiction with the company's current policy.On the other hand, they point out that in this matter, Apple does not set new boundaries at all to protect children or to track users, because similar algorithms have been used by Google or Facebook for over 10 years.

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The argument that "everyone is doing this" does not appeal to me.It is known how Google and Facebook are dealing with information about us (Google has recently released employees who took users' details outside the company) and it is difficult to judge if Apple is not an exception in this respect - here you can read how voice records are treated from an intelligent speaker.Therefore, despite the fact that the initiative is the most right, the way its implementation makes it a very large field of abuse here and anyone who can put emphasis on the company's policy.

As usual, in this case, we - users - left only to keep our fingers crossed that this will not happen.