Meredith WhittakerSep 2, 2023

Apple's statement is the death knell for the idea that it's possible to scan everyone's comms AND preserve privacy.

Apple has many of the best cryptographers + software eng on earth + infinite $.

If they can't, no one can. (They can't. No one can.)

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-csam-scanning-heat-initiative-letter/

Apple's Decision to Kill Its CSAM Photo-Scanning Tool Sparks Fresh Controversy

Child safety group Heat Initiative plans to launch a campaign pressing Apple on child sexual abuse material scanning and user reporting. The company issued a rare, detailed response on Thursday.

WIRED
Show threadOrion EdwardsSep 2, 2023

@Mer__edith apple can’t/wont do it *without sacrificing user privacy*, or, as they say, start on a slippery slope towards invasive scanning for whatever the politician of the day deems undesirable.

Sadly, I expect other companies will be less willing to stand up for that principle.

Show threadBruno BaketarićSep 3, 2023

@borland @Mer__edith You believe that there's a noble reason for that?

They expect to lose vast amounts of users if they compromise on privacy, which has always been at the core of the brand messages. That's it.

Show threadHenry MaddocksSep 3, 2023
@bbak @borland @Mer__edith Rubbish. Most of Apple’s customers don’t care about privacy. If Apple did an about face it would have no impact on their sales.
Show threadBruno Baketarić

@acute_distress @borland @Mer__edith So you are saying Apple doesn't understand it's users?

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/07/apple-is-turning-privacy-into-a-business-advantage.html

Sep 3, 2023 at 7:17amMegalodon
Show threadOrion EdwardsSep 3, 2023
@bbak @acute_distress @Mer__edith I agree with Henry here. *Some* of Apple’s customers care deeply about privacy and security, and they would be very upset if Apple backslides on those. But iPhones are very much mainstream, your average iPhone-owning soccer mom would still keep buying them.
Show threadOrion EdwardsSep 3, 2023
@bbak @acute_distress @Mer__edith and TBH so would I. The only alternative mobile OS is Android, where the privacy/security/ad-tracking bar is *so low* that even if Apple were much much worse at privacy, they’d still be the better option.
We should count ourselves lucky that Tim Cook believes in this particular principle
Show threadBruno BaketarićSep 3, 2023
@borland @acute_distress @Mer__edith Because Apple invested heavily in Branding about: trust us, your data is safe in iWhatever.
Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 3, 2023
@bbak @borland @Mer__edith @acute_distress Brands aren’t about what the users think or care about.
Show threadBruno BaketarićSep 3, 2023
@thelovebing @borland @Mer__edith @acute_distress Oh, really? How do you explain the loyalty and premium Apple Users pay since decades?
Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 3, 2023

@borland @bbak @acute_distress @Mer__edith

It works the other way around. You don’t build a brand by adapting to (would be) users.

Trust me. I’ve done this for a living going on 25 years.

Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 3, 2023

@bbak @acute_distress @Mer__edith @borland Apple by the way is The Prime Example of this. Original Mac with graphic interface, iPod, eMac, Newton, iPhone – all quirky, left field products. So that’s what we’ve come to expect from Apple.

They are really, really good at this. Think different.

Show threadBruno BaketarićSep 3, 2023

@thelovebing @borland @acute_distress @Mer__edith Nobody said they did.

They just realized that there's the threshold in people's minds. And they communicated to set the standards and be way above the threshold (doesn't matter if they really were), so people felt safe by just owning that device.

Rather simple comms strategy and part of the positioning of the brand - I guess that it can be found in textbooks already.

Show threadHenry MaddocksSep 3, 2023
@bbak @thelovebing @borland @Mer__edith Apple makes products they want and hope that other people want them too. They don’t build products by committee and they don’t do market research. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes they are not.
Show threadHenry MaddocksSep 3, 2023
@bbak @thelovebing @borland @Mer__edith If you asked the market what they wanted e2e encryption would be far down the list because most people don’t understand it. Apple added e2e encryption because they believe it’s the right thing to do. They have a gay CEO so he is very aware of this.
Show threadHenry MaddocksSep 3, 2023
@bbak @thelovebing @borland @Mer__edith You might think Apple is some evil corporation who only does things for money and you might be right about some things but encryption isn’t one of those.
Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 4, 2023

@borland @Mer__edith @acute_distress @bbak Well … I am no Apple fan boy, but as a marketer (tho comms/brand is my main area) I admire them. As a corp not as much.

Regardless of the motivation for their actions (which we obviously know nothing about) they are very aware of the need for differentiation and brand salience. One can see the failed products as failed products – or as the result of a truly innovative conpany (culture). Or both.

Show threadBruno BaketarićSep 4, 2023

@acute_distress @thelovebing @borland @Mer__edith You think corporations doing things only for money are evil?

Interesting. Isn't making money the main reason for being in business?

Now this thread degenerates into opinions based on assumptions about ones intent. This leads to nowhere. Thank you, have a good time.

Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 4, 2023

@Mer__edith @acute_distress @bbak @borland

Well as someone who runs a business (agency) I can say that no, I don’t do it for the money. Would make helluva lot more at som big agency.

I do it because it’s the only way I get to do good shit. Creative control, close relationship with clients. Stuff like that.

It seems, though, like it will pay off long run. We’re building a brand.

Show threadVärldens bästa Kille™Sep 4, 2023

@Mer__edith @bbak @acute_distress @borland “do good stuff” isn’t about saving the world btw, even though there is an argument to be made what we do could contribute to a better one.

It’s about getting to write better texts, do better design, stronger concepts. Less committee.