There has been a lot of discussion about Apple's plan to identify photographs that contain illegal material. Various comments have been made on the "one in one trillion" estimate for false positives. Others have commented on the ethics of such a search.
One idea I have not seen discussed is the reason for Apple to do this. Why would Apple choose to identify these images? Why now?
It doesn't help sell Apple products.
It doesn't help sell Apple services.
It doesn't improve Apple's reputation.
Yet Apple made the effort to identify illegal photographs, which included requirements, design, coding, and testing. It cost Apple money to do this.
If Apple gains no revenue, gains no reputation, has no material gain at all, then why should they do it? Why make the effort and why expend the money?
Perhaps there is a gain, but one that Apple has not revealed to us. What unrevealed reason could Apple have to examine and identify photographs on Apple equipment? (Or more specifically, in Apple iCloud?)
The one thought that comes to mind is an agreement with law enforcement agencies. In such an agreement, Apple scans photographs and reports illegal material to law enforcement agencies. In exchange, Apple gets... what? Something from the government? Payment? Or perhaps they don't get something from the government, such as a lawsuit or regulatory interference.
I'm speculating here. I have no knowledge of Apple's motivations. Nor do I have any knowledge of such a deal between government and Apple -- or any company. (Any keep in mind that there are governments other than the US government that may make such requests.)
But if there is a deal, then perhaps Apple is not the last company to perform such action. We may see other companies announce similar efforts to identify illegal material. Worse, we may learn that some companies have implemented such programs without informing their customers.
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