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> sounds like they're moving the scanning from server to client side, the concerns about false positives seem valid to me but I'm not sure the chance of one occ
by mortenjorck 5y ago
> sounds like they're moving the scanning from server to client side, the concerns about false positives seem valid to me but I'm not sure the chance of one occurring has increased over the existing icloud scanning.
That's the irony in this: This move arguably improves privacy by removing the requirement that images be decrypted on the server to run a check against the NCMEC database. While iCloud Photo Library is of course not E2E, in theory images should no longer have to be decrypted anywhere other than on the client under normal circumstances.
And yet – by moving the check to the client, something that was once a clear distinction has been blurred. I entirely understand (and share) the discomfort around what is essentially a surveillance technology now running on hardware I own rather than on a server I connect to, even if it's the exact same software doing the exact same thing.
Objectively, I see the advantage to Apple's client-side approach. Subjectively, I'm not so sure.
- josephcsible 5y agoIf Apple has the ability to decrypt my photos on their servers, why do I care whether or not they actually do so today? Either way, the government could hand them a FISA warrant for them all tomorrow.
- judge2020 5y agoIf photos become E2EE, then Apple can no longer turn over said photos, while still not completely turning down their CSAM scanning obligations.
- dustyharddrive 5y agoThat’s an interesting way to look at it. Funny how this news can be interpreted as both signaling Apple’s interest in E2EE iCloud Photos or weaking their overall privacy stance.
- judge2020 5y agoMy issue with my own statement is that we have yet to see plans for E2EE Photos with this in place - if apple had laid out this as their intention on apple.com/child-safety/ it would have been clear-cut.
- randyrand 5y agoIf everything is E2EE, I don’t see how they can have any scanning obligations. Google drive does not scan for child porn if the user uploads a user encrypted file. They literally can’t. Personally, I don’t think E2EE photos is coming.