Apple’s proposal would have downloaded onto every device a secret list of IDs corresponding to known exploitation images. It would then use an algorithm to determine whether any photos on the device were similar to those on the list. Like all matching algorithms, Apple’s system makes educated guesses based on statistical probabilities, but those guesses could be wrong. The second, and greater, problem was that scanning for one type of content opens the doors for scanning for other types of content. Do we want to start allowing the government to require companies to conduct suspicionless, warrantless searches of our messages with family, friends and co-workers?

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Persons: Sarah Scheffler, Jonathan Mayer, Apple, Taylor Swift, Apple’s Organizations: Apple, Princeton Locations: India, China, Madison, United States