Response to criticism of the new iPhone photo check feature
Miscellaneous / / August 09, 2021
Users are asked not to worry.
Last week Apple announced a new feature in iOS and iPadOS 15. Smartphones will automatically check images for child abuse cases. If the system notices such content, the photos will be sent for verification to employees who will review each case and issue a verdict.
This announcement has met with widespread criticism from ordinary users and experts. Most of all, people are worried about possible data leaks and changes in verification parameters. Apple responded to these troubles inĀ official FAQ about the new function.
So, Matthew Green, professor of cryptography at Johns Hopkins University, fearsthat Apple will allow governments to use the system to detect not only illegal content with children, but for other purposes - in particular, to control political opposition. Apple explained that it will not add non-child abuse markers to the system at the request of government officials:
Apple will deny such requests. The new system is solely designed to detect child abuse images in iCloud photos. We have previously met requests to launch new features that would negatively affect user privacy, and have unconditionally refused to implement them. And we will continue to refuse further.
Apple
Another common concern is that devices will need to be download samples for comparison - which means, in theory, this data can be deciphered and view. But Apple claims that only unreadable hashes will be available on the device, not the images themselves.
Hashes are strings of numbers that represent images for comparison, but they cannot be read or converted back to the original images. Thanks to cryptography, Apple can use these hashes to retrieve information only about the iCloud accounts that store a series of photographs matching these samples and only view potentially illegal photographs without access to any other pictures.
Apple
Upon confirmation of the presence of child abuse in the photo, the information will be transferred to a non-commercial organization "National Center for Missing and Exploited Children", which is supported by US police.
If, after reviewing the photos by an Apple employee, they do not find cases of child abuse, these images will not be transferred to the departments, and the tag from the suspicious account will be removed.
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