It's stuff like this which makes me extremely reticent to get into the Apple "ecosystem". On the one hand I'm thankful they disclosed this before they implemented it-- as Snowden and others have revealed, usually this stuff just happens in the dead of night, without anyone knowing until the people in power are forced to reveal their schemes. And of course, there is an element of who doesn't want to make it more difficult to child predators to hold and distribute these images? Everyone supports this sentiment, in the abstract.
But I can't support the precedent of my own computer scanning my personal files, then reporting me to "the authorities". Today it's child porn, tomorrow it's someone who happened to take a picture of a Lego set of the capitol building; or an Italian who saved a picture of a template WuFlu "Green Pass"; or someone who took a picture of their favorite firearm, to share with a friend.
This also brings up a larger, more personal point: my employer is very visibly outsourcing their entire IT department, so I'm sure I'll get the axe in the next few years, right after I train my Indian or Chinese replacement of course. I simply can't stand web development-- it may be eleven years old now, but the first response to this chain is more relevant even now than it was then-- and my solution to this problem is to re-launch my entire career as "the AR guy": I think it's going to be the next "iPhone moment", and I want to hitch my wagon to it.
But damn do these technology companies make it difficult to support them: it's what happens in a world where ethics and principles have lost out to consequentialism. Remember, we have no source code to what runs an iPhone: just because they say that system A works like this, or that you can shut stuff off, doesn't mean the "off" button even does anything. A big part of me wants to just become a "hermit in the woods": I already have my own well and lots of gardening space.
On a totally unrelated note, I've had Rainbow's first three albums on repeat for the past few weeks-- specifically "Long Live Rock N Roll", which you can hear in full here. Also don't miss this, which is them live in 1977 performing "Kill the King"-- unbelievable!