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Fri, Mar

Apple Introduces New Spy Tool To Help Combat Child Sexual Abuses

Tech Security
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Apple announced that it is introducing a new feature that will scan iPhone and iPad users' photos to detect and report large collections of child sexual abuse images stored on its cloud servers to relevant authorities. As part of new safeguards involving children, the company also announced a feature that will analyze photos sent and received in the Messages app to or from children to see if they are explicit. Apple also is adding features in its Siri digital voice assistant to intervene when users search for related abusive material.

The tech giant who previewed the three new features on Thursday which will later be released as an update later in 2021 stated that "We want to help protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them and limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

This program is ambitious, and protecting children is an important responsibility. Our efforts will evolve and expand over time." Apple's chief privacy officer, Erik Neuenschwander, said on a media call Thursday that "the system was designed and trained" to detect images from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CSAM database.

Neuenschwander said that people whose images are flagged to law enforcement would not be notified and that their accounts would be disabled. "The fact that your account is disabled is a noticeable act to you," Neuenschwander said.

However, concerns have been raised by privacy advocates and stated that this could lead to a lack of confidence in Apple and its products.

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