The tech giant is defending its new features, aimed at preventing the spread of child sexual abuse material, despite mounting pressure from privacy advocates.
Apple plans to scan iCloud photos for child sexual abuse images, and says its “method of detecting known CSAM (child sexual abuse material) is designed with user privacy in mind”.
The company has also announced a parental control option, which warns children and their parents when they are about to view or send sexually explicit photos in the Messages app.
But privacy groups claim the new features will “create new risks for children”.
Concerns have also been raised that the scanning software “could be used to censor speech and threaten the privacy and security of people around the world”.
A coalition of more than 90 rights groups has now written to Apple CEO Tim Cook, outlining their concerns, and urging the tech titan to abandon its plans to introduce the new features.
The signatories include civil rights, human rights and digital rights groups.
“Though these capabilities are intended to protect children and to reduce the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), we are concerned that they will be used to censor protected speech, threaten the privacy and security of people around the world, and have disastrous consequences for many children.”
Letter sent to apple ceo tim cook
The coalition of rights groups has raised concerns that the scan and alert feature in Messages “could result in alerts that threaten the safety and wellbeing of some young people.
The groups say LGBTQ+ youths with unsympathetic parents are particularly at risk.
They also claim that once the “CSAM hash scanning for photos is built into Apple products, the company will face enormous pressure, and possibly legal requirements, from governments around the world to scan for all sorts of images that the governments find objectionable”.
Apple defends its child safety features
Apple has sought to allay concerns, pushing back against claims that the technology will be used for other purposes.
The trillion-dollar company insists it won’t give in to pressure from any government to use the technology for other surveillance purposes.
Apple says it “will refuse any such demands”
“Let us be clear, this technology is limited to detecting CSAM child sexual abuse material stored in iCloud and we will not accede to any government’s request to expand it.”
“We have faced demands to build and deploy government-mandated changes that degrade the privacy of users before, and have steadfastly refused those demands. We will continue to refuse them in the future,” Apple said in a recent FAQ.
Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates.
Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates, driven by strong performance in its cloud computing and AI.
Tesla cut the U.S. prices of its Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000 each, days after the first-quarter deliveries of the world’s most valuable automaker missed market expectations.
Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle (EV) maker lowered the prices for its Model Y base variant to $42,990, while the long-range and performance variants are now priced at $47,990 and $51,490, respectively, according to its website.
The basic version of the Model S now costs $72,990 and its plaid variant $87,990. The Model X base variant now costs $77,990 and its plaid variant is priced at $92,900.
Tesla North America also said in a post on X said it would end its referral program benefits in all markets after April 30.
Referral program allows buyers to get extra incentives through referrals from existing customers, a strategy long used by traditional automakers to boost sales.
Musk has postponed a planned trip to India where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.
On Monday Reuters reported, citing an internal memo, that the EV maker was laying off more than 10% of its global workforce.
Earlier this month Reuters reported the EV maker had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors had been counting on to drive mass-market growth.
The EV maker reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.
Tesla is to report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
