Day: August 21, 2021

There’s no shame in acquiescing to your customers.

You’re on a slippery slope with your CSAM scanning. Lots of folks are justifiably concerned that this particular system could be misused.

This concern could easily translate into losses for your stockholders. While I recognize that a substantial part of your revenue is dependent on China, creating a system that so obviously could scan a persons phone for an oppressive regime isn’t going to help.

Our own government is and has demonstrated that no government is above spying on its citizens. Please don’t make it any easier for them.

I personally have already pulled my personal photos off of iCloud.

I’d imagine that you’re seeing a lot of other people doing the same thing. Take a look at your network activity. How much network traffic is outbound? How many photos are marked for deletion?

The real tell for you will be how many people don’t update to your latest operating systems.

We won’t know that until you release the new offerings in September – October but I suspect that a lot of people have switched off automatic updates. I know I have,

The problem isn’t that you’re trying to prevent Child pornography. That’s a good thing, the problem is that you’re opening the door to scanning anything stored in what is supposed to be private storage.

If we’re paying for cloud services, I believe that you should be treating those cloud accounts like safety deposit boxes. What’s in them is none of your business. Unless you’re presented with a warrant, nobody, including the hosting entity should be looking at what is stored in them.

The problem Apple, is that you’ve gone further. By your own description you’re programming our phones to scan at least some of the data they contain. How long before you’re scanning all the data?

How long will it be before you’re looking for images of confederate flags, or a proud gun owner’s collection of guns, or “hate speech”, Anti-Vaccine comments, “Transphobic” remarks, any nude photos, or rude comments about The President or Vice President?

For the first time in more than 2 decades. I’m looking at Windows computers. I’m searching around for dumb cell phones, and considering things like not having an iPad or an Apple Watch. I’m considering eliminating Apple cloud services from my life entirely as well.

I can turn off iMessage. I could force all text communication to go over SMS only. I’ve not decided on that quite yet because so many of my text communications are innocuous and mundane.

It’s not even that I have anything to hide. It’s the principal that my communications could become subject to anyone’s approval.

What is next? Will Apple employ banks of people who censor conversations, becoming like FaceBook, Twitter, and Google?

Where is the Apple that just a few years ago told the FBI, “No we will not unlock a terrorists phone?” Remember that Apple? The Apple that I was proud of, the Apple that would not yield to government pressure?

Just Stop, before it’s too late. You still have time, no-op the code.

There’s a quote some thing like; Scientists contemplate can we do a thing? Scientists often fail to ask themselves SHOULD we do a thing.

Apple, it’s time that you ask, “Should we do a thing?”