So many are worried about Apple’s new plans scan iPhones for signs of child abuse material, the company has confirmed that it is already analyzing these accounts in users’ iCloud Mail accounts“And he’s been doing it for years.”
As affirst informed for 9to5mac turned on Monday, the company has actually scanned cloud-linked email accounts since 2019 to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The outlet reporter, Ben Lovejoy, he explained thus:
Apple confirmed to me that since 2019 it is scanning incoming and incoming iCloud Mail CSAM attachments. Email isn’t encrypted, so scanning attachments as mail passes through Apple’s servers would be a trivial task. Apple also indicated that it was doing a limited scan of other data, but did not tell me what it was, except to suggest that it was small-scale. He told me that the “other data” does not include iCloud backups.
Lovejoy also quotes now archived apple child safety page, which also notes the scan of the email as head of privacy for the company, Jane Horvath, as supposed mentioning its CSAM scanning technology a conference in early 2020. We contacted Apple to independently verify 9to5mac claims and will update this piece if they respond.
The news comes amid ongoing concerns about Apple’s new plans to launch scanning of iPhones and other iOS devices on the device for CSAM. The new features, announced less than a month ago, have alarmed privacy advocates, who see the new tools as a slippery slope toward broader surveillance.
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We have already explained it how these functions work, why critics fear them could be armed, i why does Apple say these fears are overwhelmed.
Despite the company’s continued attempts to get everyone on board, however, morale has not particularly improved. Thousands of cybersecurity and computer professionals recently signed a petition asking Apple to reverse its plans. An open letter Tim Cook, signed by more than 90 different political groups, has argued that the new tools “will be used to censor protected speech, threaten the privacy and security of people around the world and have disastrous consequences for children “. Even Bill Maher recently he made a segment of it in which the decision was strongly confused.
The controversy has threatened Apple’s image as a company that prioritizes consumer privacy. However, it is unclear whether the current outcry will deter the tech giant. The new features are expected to be released exclusively in the United States later this year with the release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.