“We concluded it was not practically possible to implement without ultimately imperiling the security and privacy of our users,” Apple told supporters of the plan to violate privacy.
The goal of the plan was worthwhile, but the method of accomplishing it is unacceptable. By weakening encryption with backdoors, the opportunity for abuse by hackers and authoritarian governments is too significant.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Sometimes well-meaning people do not consider the unintended negative consequences of their plans. Apple wisely realized this problem and canceled the privacy invading plan.
Furthermore, using technology to spy on billions of innocent people is inherently bad as a general rule. Any plan to do that should automatically be rejected. That Apple had seriously considered implementing such a plan at one point is concerning, but at least it ultimately reached the right decision to kill it.
Earlier, Apple claimed it would refuse to comply with most demands from law enforcement to use the snooping technology. It should be noted, however, that Apple has also said it complies with all laws, and so the technology could be used for any authorized spying purpose as a form of automated Orwellian mass surveillance in all countries including China:
China’s Communist Party has an easier time censoring critics inside the country because Apple, the wealthiest company on the planet, complies with its demands:
Tech giant Apple will scan every iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac computer and iCloud account continuously and supply user content to law enforcement starting this fall:
Everyone who purchases or updates Apple devices this fall will be subjected to nonstop snooping by Apple on behalf of law enforcement, and apparently there will be nothing that can be done to block this outrageous “neuralMatch” privacy intrusion that Apple announced will expand even more.
The scanning software will make mistakes and innocent people will be investigated:
Privacy advocates warn that the scanning could eventually be harnessed by authoritarian governments with ill intent.
A different technology also exists that takes total remote control of iPhones in real time without users being aware of the intrusion. The spyware, Pegasus, is being used by authoritarian governments to spy on journalists, activists and dissidents some of whom are then tortured and murdered.
It is extremely and bizarrely naive for well-intentioned people to assume that governments will only use these capabilities to catch criminals and terrorists. What happens when Trump or one of his fascist family members or loyalists is elected as president and decides to use the technology to snoop on political opponents or protest organizers or critical journalists?
The Washington Post warns that “Democracy dies in darkness.” Yes, and Apple is about to turn out the lights. As we saw after 9/11, a fear of government snooping can cause many people to self-censor their art and political opinions, and that is what will happen again because of this new 24/7 snooping technology:
The significance of Apple’s misjudgment in weakening its commitment to privacy cannot be overstated. Apple has publicly stated that it complies will all laws, including those of authoritarian countries such as China. With this additional backsliding on privacy, Apple has opened a backdoor to fascism, totalitarianism and murder.
So when Apple develops a technology that’s capable of scanning encrypted content, you can’t just say “well, I wonder what the Chinese government would do with that technology.” It isn’t theoretical.
Apple has unveiled plans to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse. The move is drawing applause from child protection groups, but some security researchers say governments could use the system to surveil their citizens. https://t.co/BpsA0kDrA8
No matter how well-intentioned, @Apple is rolling out mass surveillance to the entire world with this. Make no mistake: if they can scan for kiddie porn today, they can scan for anything tomorrow.
They turned a trillion dollars of devices into iNarcs—*without asking.* https://t.co/wIMWijIjJk
Update: One way to reduce Apple’s spying on your photos beginning this fall will be to delete all photos from iCloud (make back ups first on your computer and an external storage device) and turn off iCloud for photos before updating to the new iOS or before purchasing a new iPhone, iPad or Mac computer:
Update: Apple claims it will refuse to comply with most demands from law enforcement to use its new snooping technology. It should be noted, however, that Apple has also said it complies with all laws, and so its new technology could eventually be used for any authorized spying purpose as a form of automated Orwellian mass surveillance:
Update: Apple executives are attempting to spin their new backdoor that will spy on everyone’s Apple devices and iCloud accounts as something that protects privacy. So, up is down, down is up, in is out, and so on. This PR effort sounds as bogus as the lie executives spew when thousands of employees are laid off and the spin from management is that the company will be “leaner and meaner,” as if this is somehow a good thing that good people lost their jobs and that the workload will now fall on the shoulders of fewer employees. News flash: Spying on everyone does not protect privacy. It’s that simple, no matter what kind of spin control Apple attempts to use to fool people.
Update: Right on cue, three Republicans senators of dubious principles have introduced legislation that would create backdoors into iPhones for law enforcement and spy agencies. The proposed legislation, which is not expected to succeed, seems ready-made to capitalize on Apple’s plans to create a backdoor into iPhones this fall:
Apple is not the same company that once boasted, “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone.” Now, it should say that starting this fall everything you write or say or even think is there for the taking by Apple itself, law enforcement, spy agencies, hackers and fascist Republicans after they win the presidency again. Only fools, fascists and hackers are OK with that.
Update: Apple is planning to put its new mass surveillance tool on hold until it can gather more feedback and make improvements (translation: Apple needs more time to trick people into supporting it):
On the day of Apple's testimony in front of the senate, when Apple said it does everything in its power to stop scams on the App Store, we found about 2% of the top 1k grossing apps were tricking consumers and taking their money. (thread) https://t.co/AFLV4pZGRD
Music from John Lennon, George Harrison, Marvin Gaye, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and many other icons of rock, pop, soul and R&B from 1971 is featured in telling the story of the social unrest of the year. The Vietnam war is central to the series and the music. And the music did more than tell the story of the times. It changed the world:
One of the lines from the series: “We were creating the 21st century in 1971.”
Facepalm moments in the series come when older journalists in suits and ties attempt to interview the musicians in 1971 and ask questions that reveal how out of touch the reporters were with what was happening. The gulf separating the establishment and the creative musicians was enormous.
If you don’t have Apple TV, you can still watch the series for free. Here’s how:
-Create an Apple TV account and watch the 1971 series for one week for free.
-Or, if you recently purchased an Apple device, you can watch the series and any other Apple TV programs for one year for free.
Apple TV programs can be watched with the free Apple TV app on iPhones and iPads, with the Safari browser on iMacs and Apple laptops, or on television with an Apple TV box.
Check out these new augmented reality (AR) apps, including the one from IKEA. Then imagine how student journalists and readers could virtually place items where they would like for them to be, such as benches outside the Writing Center at RCC, or a wider variety of food items at the college’s cafeteria. Then imagine using AR and a smartphone to gather and report the news and to share opinions. The possibilities for empowerment and expression are limitless:
Not only do these security flaws make it possible for Trump to use the spy agencies to snoop on his critics, but they also open the door to hackers worldwide to steal data from innocent people as they conduct banking and make purchases online:
It might be helpful to law enforcement to be able to examine the digital data stored on the iPhone used by the terrorists who killed 14 people in San Bernardino.
The risk, however, is that once law enforcement has that power, police and the NSA could then use it to access anyone’s iPhones and iPads. And so could law enforcement, the military and spies of all other nations throughout the world. And that would put the lives of hundreds of courageous journalists, bloggers, human rights workers, dissidents, attorneys and opposition politicians in jeopardy. Their work — and their lives — depend on privacy:
If Apple does have this ability to enable decryption by disabling iPhones’ auto erase security function or by using other methods, the judge’s order will have already put the lives of hundreds of people at risk. Despotic governments could soon demand Apple provide access to thousands of cellphones, and Apple would then have to comply or stop doing business in that country.
With her ruling the judge may have already set back democracy and human rights on a mass scale throughout the world.
Apple will likely appeal, setting the stage for an eventual ruling by the Supreme Court. Even if Apple eventually prevails, the cat may already be out of the bag in the rest of the world.
The FBI is trying to win the argument for decryption by creating a false dichotomy between saving lives versus privacy, as if the issue is that simple:
Update: The FBI ineptly asked the county to attempt to reset the iPhone’s password, which then eliminated the possibility of recovering data from an automatic backup:
The FBI also apparently lied about the bungled attempt to reset the password, blaming the county government by making it look as though the idea was the county’s:
The FBI’s bumbling its investigation of the terrorists’ iPhone follows its decision to release the terrorists’ townhouse in Redlands just two days after 14 people were murdered in San Bernardino. The decision to release the townhouse to the landlord, an action that was criticized by law enforcement experts who questioned the lack of a thorough investigation, led to dozens of journalists handling the family’s belongings and contaminating the crime scene with their fingerprints and DNA on live TV.
This whole controversy with the iPhone is now looking more and more like the FBI is trying to compensate for its ongoing ineptness by forcing Apple to do its heavy lifting, civil liberties be damned.
Instead of working within the limitations of two dimensions, virtual reality storytelling can help viewers feel empathy by putting them as close to suffering people as is possible through media. VR viewers feel they are experiencing the news instead of passively watching or reading it:
The possibilities of telling stories in new and powerful ways with virtual reality are exciting to think about, and the equipment cost to get started has dropped to the point that it is now accessible for even smaller news media.
To get started in virtual reality storytelling, check out these websites:
The Oculus Rift headset only works with a PC (not a Mac). The PC must have powerful specifications. Only about 1 percent of current PCs can work with Oculus Rift. The headsetwill cost $600:
While Google’s business model depends on harvesting as much information as it can glean from its customers, Apple is putting more of an emphasis on protecting privacy:
“…communist Russia was so bad because they followed their people, they snooped on them, they arrested them, they put them in secret prisons, they disappeared them – these kinds of things were part of Russia. We are getting more and more like that.”
Foxconn’s claim that inspectors found no evidence that students were forced to work as “interns” refers to a report before the forced labor is alleged to have occurred:
How long has Apple known about this security problem? Why has the problem not been fixed? Why have iPhone and iPad users not been warned about this issue?
Foxconn’s claim that inspectors found no evidence that students were forced to work as “interns” refers to a report in March 2012, before much of the forced labor is alleged to have occurred:
This American Life airs its retraction of its story on Mike Daisey’s claims about Apple’s Foxconn supplier. Click on the link “Play” on This American Life’s site to hear the podcast:
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