In an internal memo, Apple acknowledges concerns and “misunderstandings” about its new photo scanning feature but says it is necessary to “protect children”

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac :

9to5Mac 2021-08-07 Chance Miller

Discussion

@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
Apple distributed an internal memo today which referred to pushback against its new content surveillance measures as “the screeching voices of the minority.” I have nothing to add. https://twitter.com/...
@evacide Eva on x
Apple distributed this internal memo this morning, dismissing their critics as “the screeching voices of the minority.” I will never stop screeching about the importance of privacy, security, or civil liberties. And neither should you. https://twitter.com/...
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
Re-reading all of Apple's compromises in China to cater to the government there is interesting in light of the company making a system to scan for images stored on phones https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rondeibert Profdeibert on x
Correction: that memo was by MCMEC and not Apple. Still, poorly thought rollout by Apple.
@snowden Edward Snowden on x
If you have a @github account, you can join me in co-signing the first letter uniting security & privacy experts, researchers, professors, policy advocates, and consumers against @Apple's planned moves against all of our privacy. https://appleprivacyletter.com/
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
We previously obtained a sample of malware deployed in Xinjiang that scans phones for 70,000 specific files related to politics, Uighurs, etc. Why wouldn't Chinese authorities try to get Apple to leverage its new child abuse system to instead fulfil this https://www.vice.com/...
@snowden Edward Snowden on x
Unbelievable: @Apple now circulating a propaganda letter describing the internet-wide opposition to their decision to start checking the private files on every iPhone against a secret government blacklist as “the screeching voices of the minority.” This has become a scandal. http…
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
It's atrocious how Apple vacuums up everybody's data into iCloud by default, hides the 15+ separate options to turn parts of it off in Settings underneath your name, and forces you to have an unwanted email account. Apple would NEVER allow a third party to ship an app like this.
@caseyjohnston Casey Johnston on x
.@apple remember when you literally couldn't make a functional keyboard. Th txt would loo lk this Answr m btc https://twitter.com/...
@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
@cronokirby Incredibly difficult to resist typing with extreme clarity what I think Apple's security team and especially this Marita Rodrigues should go do with themselves.
@swiftonsecurity SoS on x
@tripswitch It was sent by an Apple employee
@lazerwalker @lazerwalker on x
To be clear, that specific phrasing comes from the NCMEC, not Apple management. This is still... an extremely disappointing way to internally communicate a complicated and nuanced ethical dilemma. https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne Peter Sterne🌹 on x
@SwiftOnSecurity The memo demonstrates that Apple is proud to work with NCMEC, a group that disdains privacy and security advocates. But it's a bit of a leap to say that Apple shares NCMEC's extreme views. Apple itself didn't refer to critics as a “screeching minority”.
@jon_prosser Jon Prosser on x
This is what the NCMEC said in a memo to Apple in response to the backlash to Apple's photo scanning 👇 Absolutely gross to frame this as “good vs. evil” and call fair criticism “screeching voices” Fuuuuuuuck that. Read the full article here: https://www.frontpagetech.com/ ... htt…
@rondeibert Profdeibert on x
Apple's memo calling people who raise concerns “screeching voices of the minority” doesn't instil confidence, and at very least shows terrible community engagement. As @evacide attests, it's only going to mobilize people who care about privacy & security https://twitter.com/...
@swiftonsecurity SoS on x
@weilbyte @tripswitch In a memo sent by Apple executive communications
@swiftonsecurity SoS on x
Despite being moderately passive or even supportive of Apple's goals yesterday, I had an invective-laden breakdown for leadership on how it was rolled out incompetently and why. I deleted it. It's increasingly obvious they weren't unprepared, it's someone's career stepping stone.…
@cronokirby Lúcás Meier on x
@kaepora “while preserving privacy” I genuinely think that Ms. Rodriguez sincerely believes this, which is why it's so irresponsible of us to not be honest about the nature of the systems we're creating.
@bascule @bascule on x
Oh cool, so the counterargument to people's concerns about Apple devices policing photos using a cryptographic Rube Goldberg machine is... an ad hominem https://twitter.com/...
@11rcombs @11rcombs on x
NCMEC executive director calls people worried about tech companies scanning every photo on your phone “the screeching voices of the minority”, in a note an apple VP calls “incredibly motivating” https://9to5mac.com/...
@je5perl Jesper Lund on x
@kaepora “Victimzed children will be rescued” is an amazing claim which cannot really be based on an understanding of the the Apple spyware actually does.
@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
@cronokirby This memo genuinely makes me angry. Not Internet angry, not outrage angry, but genuine real anger. Imagine being so blind and short-sighted, imagine standing up the entire security & privacy community and then writing that off as “the screeching voices of the minority…
@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
@lazerwalker The external note was attached to a team memo from Apple VP Sebastien Marineau-Mes, who introduced it with: “I wanted to share this note that we received today from NCMEC. I found it incredibly motivating, and hope that you will as well.”
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
The fact that internal memos about content scanning are leaking from Apple does not say good things about support for those policies internally. https://www.google.com/...
@kaepora Nadim Kobeissi on x
If you too want to be part of the screeching voices of the minority, sign the open Apple Privacy Letter: https://appleprivacyletter.com/
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
NCMEC also needs to dial it down a lot. This is offensive. Your job is not to toss civil society and Apple's customers under the bus. https://www.google.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@tim Tim Bradshaw on x
Latest reaction to Apple's child safety plans: EU👍 India 😍 UK 🥳 rest of Big Tech 😱 WhatsApp 🤬 https://www.ft.com/...
@kifleswing Kif on x
Critics of Apple's new plan don't see a better-engineered system that improves on what Google and Microsoft have been doing for years. Instead, they see a significant shift in policy from the company that said “what happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone.” https://twitter.co…
@kurtopsahl Kurt Opsahl on x
WhatsApp gives a strong no to client-side scanning. “It's not how technology built in free countries works.” https://twitter.com/...
@samadlerbell Sam Adler-Bell on x
“Child pornography is so repulsive a crime that those entrusted to root it out may, in their zeal, be tempted to bend or even break the rules. If they do so, however, they endanger the freedom of all of us.” (US v. Coreas) https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
head of WhatsApp on Apple's moves yesterday https://twitter.com/...
@annemariebridy Annemarie Bridy on x
The call to “think of the children” creates unassailable cover for expanding censorship and surveillance. What moral person doesn't want to do everything possible to stop the distribution of CSAM? https://twitter.com/...
@infocyte Steve Raikow on x
@Techmeme @ChanceHMiller Note that the memo doesn't articulate what they claim people are actually ‘misunderstanding’. This response is exactly the kind of passive aggressive rationalization that I'd expect from an abusive bully that is convinced that he's ‘really a good guy’.
@chrisbhoffman Chris Hoffman on x
“We know that the days to come will be filled with the screeching voices of the minority.” https://twitter.com/...

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In an internal memo, Apple acknowledges concerns and “misunderstandings” about its new photo scanning feature but says it is necessary to “protect children”

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