Another reminder that many parts of HN have their own biases; they're just different than the biases found on other networks. Instead of exclusively focusing o

Another reminder that many parts of HN have their own biases; they're just different than the biases found on other networks. Instead of exclusively focusing on the authoritarian slippery slope like it's inevitable, it's worth wondering first: why do the major tech companies show no intention of giving up the server-side PhotoDNA scanning that has already existed for over a decade? CSAM is still considered illegal by half of all the countries in the entire world, for reasons many consider justifiable. The point of all the detection is so that Apple isn't found liable for hosting CSAM and consequently implicated with financial and legal consequences themselves. And beyond just the realm of law, it's reputational suicide to be denounced as a "safe haven for pedophiles" if it's not possible for law enforcement to tell if CSAM is being stored on third-party servers. Apple was not the best actor to look towards if absolute privacy was one's goal to begin with, because the requests of law enforcement are both reasonable enough to the public and intertwined with regulation from the higher powers anyway. It's the nature of public sentiment surrounding this issue. Because a third party insisting that user-hosted content is completely impervious to outside actors also means that it is possible for users to hide CSAM from law enforcement using the same service, thus making the service criminally liable for damages under many legal jurisdictions, I was surprised that this debate didn't happen earlier (to the extent it's taking place, at least). The two principles seem fundamentally incompatible.