Apple faces backlash against new scanning tool that detects child sex abuse images

Following employee and policymaker backlash, Apple has announced that it is still redining its plans to scan iPhones to detects images of children being sexually abused.
Following employee and policymaker backlash, Apple has announced that it is still refining its plans to scan iPhones to detects images of children being sexually abused.

Last week, Apple announced that it would introduce a feature for iPhones that would automatically scan the device for photos depicting child abuse. These scans would take place before images are uploaded to the iCloud. Additionally, Apple announced that if an explicit image was found, it would be reported to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC is the only organisation that Apple has cleared this agreement with. 

The announcement caused immense backlash from major tech policy groups, as well as its own employees. Both groups expressed concerns that Apple was risking its reputation for protecting consumer privacy. In addition, an anonymous individual wrote to Reuters last week to express employee concerns, detailing that Apple employees have taken to an internal channel on Slack to express their opinions on the scanner, with over 800 messages on the channel. 

Craig Federighi, the company’s senior VP of software engineering, defended the new system in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, emphasising that private information will be protected with “multiple levels of audibility.” He said: “We, who consider ourselves absolutely leading on privacy, see what we are doing here as an advancement of the state of the art in privacy, as enabling a more private world.” 

In a video of the interview, Federighi said, “What we’re doing is we’re finding illegal images of child pornography stored in iCloud. If you look at any other cloud service, they currently are scanning photos by looking at every single photo in the cloud and analysing it. We wanted to be able to spot such photos in the cloud without looking at people’s photos and came up with an architecture to do this.” He emphasised that the system is not a “backdoor” that will break encryption, and that it is “much more private than anything that’s been done in this area before.” Accordion to Federighi, this system was developed “in the most privacy-protecting way we can imagine and in the most auditable and verifiable way possible.”

Apple did not initially release further details on the scan, such as specifying how many matched images it would require before it would be flagged for review or reported to the authorities. However, it said on Friday that it would start with 30 to lower this number as the scanning system refines. 

“It’s really clear a lot of messages got jumbled pretty badly in terms of how things were understood,” Federighi told The Wall Street Journal. “We wish that this would’ve come out a little more clearly for everyone because we feel very positive and strongly about what we’re doing.”

READ MORE:

This scanning service is planned to start in the US. Though its focus is on scanning for explicit images of minors, there is concern from policymakers and critics alike that the government will leverage Apple to scan for other content, such as prohibited political imagery.

For more news from Top Business Tech, don’t forget to subscribe to our daily bulletin!

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Amber Donovan-Stevens

Amber is a Content Editor at Top Business Tech

Birmingham Unveils the UK’s Best Emerging HealthTech Advances

Kosta Mavroulakis • 03rd April 2025

The National HealthTech Series hosted its latest event in Birmingham this month, showcasing innovative startups driving advanced health technology, including AI-assisted diagnostics, wearable devices and revolutionary educational tools for healthcare professionals. Health stakeholders drawn from the NHS, universities, industry and front-line patient care met with new and emerging businesses to define the future trajectory of...

Why DEIB is Imperative to Tech’s Future

Hadas Almog from AppsFlyer • 17th March 2025

We’ve been seeing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives being cut time and time again throughout the tech industry. DEIB dedicated roles have been eliminated, employee resource groups have lost funding, and initiatives once considered crucial have been deprioritised in favour of “more immediate business needs.” The justification for these cuts is often the...

The need to eradicate platform dependence

Sue Azari • 10th March 2025

The advertising industry is undergoing a seismic shift. Connected TV (CTV), Retail Media Networks (RMNs), and omnichannel strategies are rapidly redefining how brands engage with consumers. As digital privacy regulations evolve and platform dynamics shift, advertisers must recognise a fundamental truth. You cannot build a sustainable business on borrowed ground. The recent uncertainty surrounding TikTok...

The need to clean data for effective insight

David Sheldrake • 05th March 2025

There is more data today than ever before. In fact, the total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally has now reached an incredible 149 zettabytes. The growth of the big mountain is not expected to slow down, either, with it expected to reach almost 400 zettabytes within the next three years. Whilst...

What can be done to democratize VDI?

Dennis Damen • 05th March 2025

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) offers businesses enhanced security, scalability, and compliance, yet it remains a niche technology. One of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption is a severe talent gap. Many IT professionals lack hands-on VDI experience, as their careers begin with physical machines and increasingly shift toward cloud-based services. This shortage has created a...

Tech and Business Outlook: US Confident, European Sentiment Mixed

Viva Technology • 11th February 2025

The VivaTech Confidence Barometer, now in its second edition, reveals strong confidence among tech executives regarding the impact of emerging technologies on business competitiveness, particularly AI, which is expected to have the most significant impact in the near future. Surveying tech leaders from Europe and North America, 81% recognize their companies as competitive internationally, with...