Apple Helps Curb Child Abuse By Checking iPhone Photos On iCloud

The Cupertino tech company Apple has begun scanning photos from iPhones to check for possible child abuse images. The move came following the mounting pressure on tech companies to do more to confront the crime. Last year, Apple made several changes to its privacy policy, stating that it may scan iCloud photos for child abuse material.

At the recent tech and electronics conference, Apple Chief Privacy Officer Jane Horvath shared that the Cupertino company now automatically screens iPhone and iPad photos backed up to the iCloud – the company’s online storage service. The move is the company’s way of checking whether these iCloud photos contain illegal images.

It is worth noting that Apple often clashed with authorities and security forces for declining to break into criminal’s iPhones and applying encryption on its messaging app to protect its users’ privacy. A few days ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent an email to Apple seeking its assistance to access the iPhones of the alleged suspect in the Naval Air shooting in Pensacola, Florida.

Removing encryption is not the way we are solving these issues, the Apple CPO said during the recent CES 2020 held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Apple is utilizing some technologies to help screen for child sexual abuse materials, Horvath added. The official website of the Cupertino company states that it is committed to protecting children across its ecosystem wherever our products are used, and it continues to support innovation in this particular space.

Apple did not reveal the details on how it checks for child abuse images. However, several tech companies these days are using a technology called PhotoDNA. Through this, images are checked based on the database of previously identified photos using a technology more popularly known as hashing.

Google, Twitter, and Facebook also use the same technology. While Apple earlier revealed changes in its privacy policy, it is not clear when it started scanning the iCloud. The Apple CPO also defended the Cupertino company’s decision to encrypt iPhones in a manner that makes it hard even for law enforcement and security services to unlock the iPhones.

It is worth mentioning that the recent request by the FBI is similar to the San Bernardino case that happened in 2015. Apple refused to open the iPhone of the suspect.