A day after Apple announced a new child safety update, WhatsApp’s head expressed his views that the new update may turn into a surveillance system set up by Apple. It is not the first time the two companies have lashed out at each other on issues concerning privacy.
Apple claimed that its new software will be able to identify images of child abuse on the iCloud. Facebook’s head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart have responded to the new software as he felt “concerned” with this update. He expressed his views on Twitter where he tweeted, “Apple built and operated surveillance system that could very easily be used to scan private content for anything they or a government decides it wants to control.” He also wrote about his speculations that the system may be exploited in some countries.
Apple however denied Cathcart’s claims. The users can also choose to disable iCloud Photos. It also explained that the “fingerprints” used will be provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and other organizations.
Apple had previously raised issues concerning Facebook’s privacy policies even when Facebook enabled end-to-end encryption. Apple has also criticized Facebook’s ability to track down its users and few other similar features.
