UK watchdog accuses Apple of downplaying child-abuse material cases
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK has accused tech giant Apple of significantly underreporting incidents involving Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on its platforms. The NSPCC claims to have discovered more instances of abuse images on Apple's platforms within UK than what Apple reported globally. In 2022, amid surveillance concerns, Apple scrapped its plans for CSAM detection and instead introduced a feature called Communication Safety that blurs nude photos sent to children.
NSPCC finds discrepancy in Apple's CSAM reporting
According to the NSPCC, between April 2022-March 2023, Apple was implicated in 337 offenses in England and Wales alone. However, Apple reported only 267 cases of CSAM detection globally to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2023. Richard Collard, head of child safety online policy at NSPCC, expressed concern over this discrepancy between the number of UK child abuse image crimes taking place on Apple's services and almost negligible number of global reports made to authorities.
Apple's reporting compared to other tech giants
In contrast to Apple's reported cases, Google reported over 14,70,958 CSAM cases in 2023. Meta reported even higher numbers with 1,78,38,422 cases on Facebook and 1,14,30,007 on Instagram during the same period. Despite WhatsApp being an encrypted service like iMessage, Meta still reported around 13,89,618 suspected CSAM cases in 2023.
NSPCC raises concerns over AI-generated CSAM images
The NSPCC has also raised concerns about the potential for AI-generated CSAM images. The organization noted that the upcoming Apple Intelligence will not create photorealistic images. This concern adds another layer to the ongoing debate about child safety online and the role of technology companies in monitoring and reporting abuse. All US technology firms are required to report detected CSAM cases to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
