Apple will postpone the release of new features aimed at limiting the spread of child sexual abuse material that raised alarm bells among some privacy watchdogs and advocates, the company announced Friday.
The Big Tech company revealed last month it was developing tools to detect known images of child sexual abuse by scanning files before they were uploaded to iCloud. But privacy advocates and experts soon issued warnings that some features could be used to frame innocent people, prompting Apple to scrap plans to roll out the feature in an iOS 15 update later this year.
“Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers, and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features,” Apple said in a statement on Friday.
APPLE SET TO UPDATE IOS WITH TOOLS TO HELP COMBAT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Critics took issue with two out of three of the features Apple was looking to implement. The second feature that raised privacy concerns included an alert system for parents if their children were sending or receiving sexually explicit images.
Matthew Green, a cryptography researcher at Johns Hopkins University, raised issues with the plans last month, arguing that users could be wrongfully framed if people sent seemingly innocuous images to other users designed to trigger matches for child pornography.
Green said Friday that Apple’s delay of the features was the right move and suggested that Apple should speak with technology policy communities and the public before making adjustments that threaten the privacy of users’ photo libraries on iOS devices.
“You need to build support before you launch something like this,” Green told the Washington Post. “This was a big escalation from scanning almost nothing to scanning private files.”
And I’m also very grateful to Apple for taking some time to pause their rollout and think hard about it. Because the way these things go, Apple’s rollout would have justified a deluge of further expansion. 6/6 fin
— Matthew Green (@matthew_d_green) September 3, 2021
Privacy advocates have long expressed concerns about the security of user data on personal devices, prompting several Big Tech companies in recent months to roll out features aimed at shoring up personal security. Apple unrolled a feature in January that allowed users to stop third-party app tracking.
Apple’s move was followed in February by Facebook introducing a feature urging some users to respond “Allow” or “Don’t Allow” to prompts that appear when they open the social media app on iOS devices.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Washington Examiner contacted Apple but did not immediately receive a response.
