Have you heard about the new features Apple has planned? Apple announced a software update for later this year. The new child safety features are making waves. Child protection advocates and organizations are thrilled. Protecting children from predators is a noble goal. However, privacy advocates are worried.

Apple says there are 3 features. Messages will be able to scan photo attachments on your child’s device. If photos are explicit, parents can be notified.

Apple will scan photos on all devices which sync to iCloud storage. If 30 or more match entries from the National Center for Exploited Children database, Apple will notify NMEC and close the iCloud account. The 3rd feature involves search functions and Siri virtual assistant. If images of abuse are searched for they will not display. Instead, the user will see messages about how that content is harmful and where to seek help. You can read the full statement and FAQ documents by Apple, here: https://www.apple.com/childsafety/ .

Privacy advocates worry about the precedent this scanning sets. They wonder how these features might change in the future.

The New York Times quoted the cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Eva Galperin saying, “Once you create that back door, it will be used by people whom you don’t want to use it.” Could this open the door for censorship or new cybersecurity threats? Privacy advocates think so and don’t think it’s worth the risk.

When and if these features are added to iOS, I will be sure to share how you and your family can opt-in or opt-out.