The Flat Earth Society

Other Discussion Boards => Philosophy, Religion & Society => Topic started by: Rushy on August 06, 2021, 01:43:23 PM

Title: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Rushy on August 06, 2021, 01:43:23 PM
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/08/apple-explains-how-iphones-will-scan-photos-for-child-sexual-abuse-images/

If you own an iPhone product, Apple will now scan all of your saved images under the guise of protecting children. It will forcibly install the app onto your phone. Apple plans on releasing this spyware app on all of its products at a later date.

Quote
Shortly after reports today that Apple will start scanning iPhones for child-abuse images, the company confirmed its plan and provided details in a news release and technical summary.
...
The changes will roll out "later this year in updates to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey," Apple said

At least they have the decency to tell you. I'd imagine Google does this already.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Lord Dave on August 06, 2021, 02:05:09 PM
But only in America.  Because other nations have privacy laws.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Rushy on August 06, 2021, 02:07:32 PM
But only in America.  Because other nations have privacy laws.

If you use Apple services, your images are automatically saved to iCloud, which physically exists in America. Being in another country won't help unless you're explicitly refusing to use iCloud, which as far as I know, isn't an optional feature on Apple devices and you agreed to use it the moment you clicked 'accept' on the terms of service.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: xasop on August 06, 2021, 02:10:22 PM
If you use Apple services, your images are automatically saved to iCloud, which physically exists in America. Being in another country won't help
That is incorrect. If Apple is offering services to customers in the EU, they have to abide by the GDPR for those customers' data, regardless of where the data is stored.

Whether or not this particular scan violates the GDPR, I have no idea, but Apple isn't exempt from EU law just because they store the data in the US.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Rushy on August 06, 2021, 02:22:18 PM
That is incorrect. If Apple is offering services to customers in the EU, they have to abide by the GDPR for those customers' data, regardless of where the data is stored.

Whether or not this particular scan violates the GDPR, I have no idea, but Apple isn't exempt from EU law just because they store the data in the US.

Apple has shown repeatedly in the past that they would rather pay large fines than cooperate with EU regulations. The same goes for every other US tech company. The EU simply doesn't have enough pull to properly enforce regulations as long as the US allows the behavior to continue.

Take this, for example: https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/30/eu-hits-amazon-with-record-breaking-887m-gdpr-fine-over-data-misuse/

Amazon has been hit with a fine for something they did in 2018. It took three years for them to finally take a small hit from doing so and they still intend to appeal, keeping the EU courts tied up in litigation perpetually. The fine Amazon ends up paying will be less than 887 million, which even at its full cost, is nothing at all to Amazon.

In the end, Apple will enforce its new meme on everyone, and while they may end up paying a fine for the trouble, they will almost certainly make more money with their new image overlord system than they would shell out in a fine to the EU.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Lord Dave on August 06, 2021, 02:26:22 PM
But only in America.  Because other nations have privacy laws.

If you use Apple services, your images are automatically saved to iCloud, which physically exists in America. Being in another country won't help unless you're explicitly refusing to use iCloud, which as far as I know, isn't an optional feature on Apple devices and you agreed to use it the moment you clicked 'accept' on the terms of service.

Both are false.
ICloud is an optional service.
ICloud servers are scattered throughout the world.  It would be really really dumb to have 1 server in the US for the whole world. 
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: Tom Bishop on August 07, 2021, 03:54:40 AM
So anyone can just get ahold of someone else's unlocked device and ruin their life in an almost undetectable way without even having to make a false police report? Nice.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: crutonius on August 07, 2021, 05:53:16 AM
So anyone can just get ahold of someone else's unlocked device and ruin their life in an almost undetectable way without even having to make a false police report? Nice.

No need to get physical access.  Just text someone random pictures of kids until you trigger it.
Title: Re: Apple will scan all iPhone images looking for 'child abuse'
Post by: stack on August 07, 2021, 08:31:57 AM
But only in America.  Because other nations have privacy laws.

If you use Apple services, your images are automatically saved to iCloud, which physically exists in America. Being in another country won't help unless you're explicitly refusing to use iCloud, which as far as I know, isn't an optional feature on Apple devices and you agreed to use it the moment you clicked 'accept' on the terms of service.

Both are false.
ICloud is an optional service.
ICloud servers are scattered throughout the world.  It would be really really dumb to have 1 server in the US for the whole world.

I can attest to the icloud is an optional save feature for your photos. Though I think it defaults to "On". To turn it off:

- Go into Settings
- Poke your profile name/avatar at the top
- Poke on iCloud
- First entry under "Apps using iCloud" should be "Photos"
- To the right poke "On" (or "Off)
- Next screen, select "iCloud Photos" to off

I did so a year or so ago, turned it off, because it was screwing up my Lightroom folders, constantly synching and out of synching stuff, putting stuff in the wrong folders, etc. So I ditched the icloud option. Probably pilot error more than anything else, but I gave up trying to fix it so I killed it.