Just because Apple has a plan — and a forthcoming security feature — designed to combat the spread of child sex abuse images, that doesn't mean everyone's getting on board.
WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart joined the chorus of Apple critics on Friday, stating in no uncertain terms that the Facebook-owned messaging app won't be adopting this new feature once it launches. Cathcart then went on to lay out his concerns about the machine learning-driven system in a sprawling thread.
"This is an Apple built and operated surveillance system that could very easily be used to scan private content for anything they or a government decides it wants to control," Cathcart wrote midway through the thread. "Countries where iPhones are sold will have different definitions on what is acceptable."
While WhatsApp's position the feature itself is clear enough, Cathcart's thread focuses mostly on raising hypothetical scenarios that suggest where things could go wrong with it. He wants to know if and how the system will be used in China, and "what will happen when" spyware companies exploit it, and how error-proof it really is.
The thread amounts to an emotional appeal. It isn't terribly helpful for those who might be seeking information on why Apple's announcement raised eyebrows. Cathcart parrots some of the top-level talking points raised by critics, but the approach is more provocative than informative.
As Mashable reported on Thursday, one piece the forthcoming security update uses a proprietary technology called NeuralHash that scans each image file hash — a signature, basically — and checks it against the hashes of known Child Sex Abuse Materials (CSAM). All of this hap ..
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