Apple has publicly opposed the Online Safety Bill, a U.K. content regulation bill being considered by the British Parliament, according to the BBC. The bill aims to create regulations that would force messaging services, including Apple’s iMessage, to scan message content for child material (CSAM). Apple believes that any weakening of end-to-end encryption would expose all users to security risks.
Apple said in a statement that encryption is a “critical capability to protect the privacy of journalists, human rights activists and diplomats. The company urged the U.K. government to amend the bill to protect strong end-to-end encryption for the benefit of all. Apple also said encryption also helps ordinary citizens protect themselves from surveillance, identity theft, fraud and data breaches. The Online Security Bill poses a serious threat to such protections and could put British citizens at greater risk.
The BBC understands that a series of amendments are expected to be published soon that is expected to address the requirement to scan message content for CSAM.
Apple has attempted to introduce its own CSAM detection system for iCloud photos but has met with failure. Yet Apple continues to introduce new features within the context of communication security in iMessage that obscure potentially inappropriate images and provide resources to prevent the sharing of sensitive content. In iOS 17, Apple extended communications security to “AirDrop, the system-level photo selector, FaceTime messages, contact posters in the Phone app, and third-party apps.
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