Apple defeats liability for not scanning iCloud for CSAM

Post by pembrook » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 6:20 PM UTC

IncreasePosts wrote: post #130

pembrook wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it’s an argument but there’s zero data to support it, in fact the opposite. If this were true then widespread availability of pornography on the internet would have resulted in a massive increase in rape of adult females. When in fact, assault numbers have been on a steady decline for decades.

Why would general pornography lead to rape? Most pornography is not rape pornography. Would people watching a bunch of rape pornography lead to more rapes? I don't know, but that seems more likely than general pornography leading to rapes. 60% of respondents who were found looking for CSAM on the dark web stated that they were fearful that consuming CSAM would lead them to do something to a child in real life: https:…

Post by gausswho » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 6:23 PM UTC

mothballed wrote: post #164

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered the implications of what you're saying? A whistleblower goes to a therapist, stressed out over their pending decision to reveal official misconduct. They've been investigating ways to post something on the internet that can't be immediately taken down by the corrupt government officials they want to expose. They express their discomfort, in confidence, to their therapist, about using something the…

I used to have a good friend that was a stripper (I promise, I wasn't the client...). Some of her biggest customers were people that wanted therapy without the paper trail of going to a licensed therapist. This is a big thing for pilots as well, since their health records and mental care are intensely scrutinized. A stripper will provide comfort, verbal relief, and physical love for $100 hour you can tell them anythi…

Post by djoldman » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 6:23 PM UTC

pushcx wrote: post #79

djoldman wrote: post #51

I am not a lawyer. There is something ironic about US laws that attempt to prevent crime A by outlawing action B. For example: * A: physical sexual abuse of children. B: possession or distribution of CSAM * A: drug trafficking or tax evasion. B: structured cash withdrawals The irony is that the more B is prevented, the less A can be detected and the less B can be used as evidence of A. It's my understanding that conv…

No. In short, in US law, CSAM is a visual depiction of a real-world act of child sexual abuse. Visual depictions like you're describing are covered under a different law, and I'm not aware of it having a short name. There's a good expert thread on this with links to the relevant federal laws here: https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3lbt7zkvlq...

  (a)In General.—Any person who, in a circumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly produces, distributes, receives, or possesses with intent to distribute, a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that—
    (1)
      (A)depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
      (B)is obscene; or ...
  (b)...
  (c)Nonrequired Element of Offense.—
  It is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exist.

Post by Dylan16807 » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 6:24 PM UTC

mothballed wrote: post #159

Dylan16807 wrote: post #92

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No matter how or why? That seems like a terrible mandate.

They are mandated to report child abuse. It is the same story with doctors, if an abusive parent brings in a child for care they learn never to give the kid healthcare again after the doctor reports it. It is rooted in good intentions but the effect is it means abused children never get to see doctors, therapists, get a half-ass minimal homeschool instead of going to school, etc so that mandated reporters never enter…

Post by d1sxeyes » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC

xphos wrote: post #123

FireBeyond wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still also totally don't get their policy. Trying to avoid false positives by not firing until a threshold was hit (was it 20 images?) seemed insane from a PR position... rightly or wrongly, all it would take would be the wrong court case and you can see the headlines: "Apple says users can have up to 20 CSAM images on their phone before they'll tell police"

Imagine you have pictures of someones baptism and the kid was nude. Is it CSAM? I think the program would have to say use but morally I'd say no. The issue with client scanning is it has to assume the worst, or they are than liable. If its the person has 20+ different baptism of nude babys well huh that actually might be CSAM because the context of how that concentrated photos implies but even than its hard what if t…