Congrats to Matthew Green on victory (for now) vs. Apple local scanning

If you missed the news, Apple just announced it will be “delaying” its implementation of locally scanning devices for possibly-illegal files on behalf of governments. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/03/apple-delays-controversial-plan-to-scan-iphones-for-child-exploitation-images.html

I just wanted to give a shout out and solicit a round of applause for Zcash Foundation board member and Zerocash co-author @Matthewdgreen, for his role in breaking the “Apple CSAM local scanning” story and leading the public debate on it to an appropriate place of total rejection of Apple’s dystopian approach.

You can read Matt’s initial tweets breaking the story here: https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/1423071186616000513?lang=en)

Apple thought they would be able to slide this through on a Friday afternoon with no one noticing. And instead they got the biggest amount of opposition I’ve ever seen them receive on anything in my 18 years of campaigning against Apple’s unethical use of power.

We’re all in debt to you, Matt, for your leadership on this.

Also, once the story broke, former ZOMG committee member @sarahjamielewis was all over it too: https://twitter.com/SarahJamieLewis/status/1423782395669401604

This is one of those great examples where a few smart, informed, principled voices can make a huge difference to the world’s future. I hope we can all remember moments like this one as we consider our own work and its impact in the world.

A memo Apple leaked to reporters called those opposing on-device scanning the “screeching voices of the minority”. This is a lesson on how much those voices can matter.

Let’s learn to be the best “screeching voices of the minority” we can be, for privacy and freedom! :slight_smile:

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Hear hear!

@Matthewdgreen put an inordinate effort into this fight, recognizing it for what it is: a battle line that, if crossed, would push us down a slippery slope where we lose control over personal data on our personal devices. It was not easy to educate and convince people of this danger, working against a well-oiled PR and lobbying machine, but sanity and personal dignity are holding the line. Thank you, Matt, for being their champion!

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Thanks all. But I think the credit goes to a lot of other folks who did really good work, particularly the folks who found those hash collisions! I am incredibly happy that this got the public reaction it did. It gave me a lot of hope that there is a huge contingent of people out there who care about their privacy.

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