Technologies

Apple, iPhones, photos and child safety: What’s happening and should you be concerned?

The tech giant’s built new systems to fight child exploitation and abuse, but security advocates worry it could erode our privacy. Here’s why.

Apple’s long presented itself as a bastion of security, and as one of the only tech companies that truly cares about user privacy. But a new technology designed to help an iPhone, iPad or Mac computer detect child exploitation images and videos stored on those devices has ignited a fierce debate about the truth behind Apple’s promises.

On Aug. 5, Apple announced a new feature being built into the upcoming iOS 15, iPad OS 15, WatchOS 8 and MacOS Monterey software updates designed to detect if someone has child exploitation images or videos stored on their device. It’ll do this by converting images into unique bits of code, known as hashes, based on what they depict. The hashes are then checked against a database of known child exploitation content that’s managed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If a certain number of matches are found, Apple is then alerted and may further investigate.

Apple said it developed this system to protect people’s privacy, performing scans on the phone and only raising alarms if a certain number of matches are found. But privacy experts, who agree that fighting child exploitation is a good thing, worry that Apple’s moves open the door to wider uses that could, for example, put political dissidents and other innocent people in harm’s way.

“Even if you believe Apple won’t allow these tools to be misused there’s still a lot to be concerned about,” tweeted Matthew Green, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who’s worked on cryptographic technologies.

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Apple’s new feature, and the concern that’s sprung up around it, represent an important debate about the company’s commitment to privacy. Apple has long promised that its devices and software are designed to protect their users’ privacy. The company even dramatized that with an ad it hung just outside the convention hall of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, which said “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone.”

“We at Apple believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” Apple CEO Tim Cook has often said.

Apple’s scanning technology is part of a trio of new features the company’s planning for this fall. Apple also is enabling its Siri voice assistant to offer links and resources to people it believes may be in a serious situation, such as a child in danger. Advocates had been asking for that type of feature for a while.

It also is adding a feature to its messages app to proactively protect children from explicit content, whether it’s in a green-bubble SMS conversation or blue-bubble iMessage encrypted chat. This new capability is specifically designed for devices registered under a child’s iCloud account and will warn if it detects an explicit image being sent or received. Like with Siri, the app will also offer links and resources if needed.

There’s a lot of nuance involved here, which is part of why Apple took the unusual step of releasing research papers, frequently asked questions and other information ahead of the planned launch.

Here’s everything you should know:

Why is Apple doing this now?

The tech giant said it’s been trying to find a way to help stop child exploitation for a while. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 65 million reports of material last year. Apple said that’s way up from the 401 reports 20 years ago.

“We also know that the 65 million files that were reported is only a small fraction of what is in circulation,” said Julie Cordua, head of Thorn, a nonprofit fighting child exploitation that supports Apple’s efforts. She added that US law requires tech companies to report exploitative material if they find it, but it does not compel them to search for it.

Other companies do actively search for such photos and videos. Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Google (and its YouTube subsidiary) all use various technologies to scan their systems for any potentially illegal uploads.

What makes Apple’s system unique is that it’s designed to scan our devices, rather than the information stored on the company’s servers.

The hash scanning system will only be applied to photos stored in iCloud Photo Library, which is a photo syncing system built into Apple devices. It won’t hash images and videos stored in the photos app of a phone, tablet or computer that isn’t using iCloud Photo Library. So, in a way, people can opt out if they choose not to use Apple’s iCloud photo syncing services.

Could this system be abused?

The question at hand isn’t whether Apple should do what it can to fight child exploitation. It’s whether Apple should use this method.

The slippery slope concern privacy experts have raised is whether Apple’s tools could be twisted into surveillance technology against dissidents. Imagine if the Chinese government were able to somehow secretly add data corresponding to the famously suppressed Tank Man photo from the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square to Apple’s child exploitation content system.

Apple said it designed features to keep that from happening. The system doesn’t scan photos, for example — it checks for matches between hash codes. The hash database is also stored on the phone, not a database sitting on the internet. Apple also noted that because the scans happen on the device, security researchers can audit the way it works more easily.

Is Apple rummaging through my photos?

We’ve all seen some version of it: The baby in the bathtub photo. My parents had some of me, I have some of my kids, and it was even a running gag on the 2017 Dreamworks animated comedy The Boss Baby.

Apple says those images shouldn’t trip up its system. Because Apple’s system converts our photos to these hash codes, and then checks them against a known database of child exploitation videos and photos, the company isn’t actually scanning our stuff. The company said the likelihood of a false positive is less than one in 1 trillion per year.

“In addition, any time an account is flagged by the system, Apple conducts human review before making a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” Apple wrote on its site. “As a result, system errors or attacks will not result in innocent people being reported to NCMEC.”

Is Apple reading my texts?

Apple isn’t applying its hashing technology to our text messages. That, effectively, is a separate system. Instead, with text messages, Apple is only alerting a user who’s marked as a child in their iCloud account about when they’re about to send or receive an explicit image. The child can still view the image, and if they do a parent will be alerted.

“The feature is designed so that Apple does not get access to the messages,” Apple said.

What does Apple say?

Apple maintains that its system is built with privacy in mind, with safeguards to keep Apple from knowing the contents of our photo libraries and to minimize the risk of misuse.

“At Apple, our goal is to create technology that empowers people and enriches their lives — while helping them stay safe,” Apple said in a statement. “We want to protect children from predators who use communication tools to recruit and exploit them, and limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material.”

Technologies

Hugging Face’s new duck robot sells rapidly, powered by a Chinese chip

Hugging Face’s new duck robot, powered by a Chinese Rockchip chip, has quickly sold over 10,000 units and generated $5 million in revenue, prompting longer delivery times.

Based in Beijing, a popular new programmable personal robot from a Franco‑American firm runs on a chip from Shanghai‑listed Rockchip, which itself relies on technology from the British company ARM, illustrating the tightly linked global technology supply chain.

The colorful “Microduck” robot, developed by Hugging Face’s French subsidiary Pollen Robotics, has shipped more than 10,000 units since its Thursday launch, with total sales exceeding $5 million by late Tuesday, per Hugging Face.

The strong demand has pushed delivery dates for new orders beyond the original promise of a Christmas 2026 release.

Each duck‑shaped robot costs $399 and includes its own sensors, motors and on‑device computing from Rockchip’s RK3566, a chip that incorporates licensing from British semiconductor firm ARM.

According to Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia, the Chinese firm is a “key vendor” for on‑device AI, noting its chips are widely used for machine‑vision tasks such as object detection and image recognition.

Su added that while the chips have a large market presence, they lack the processing power needed for complex edge‑AI devices, but they still enable smartphones, robots and other electronics to run generative AI securely without uploading data to the internet.

Rockchip reported a 40% year‑over‑year rise in operating revenue during the first half of the year, reaching 2.88 billion yuan ($428 million), with net profit excluding one‑time items climbing by more than 60%.

Weighing 1.76 lb (800 g), the Microduck functions both as an interactive toy and a development platform, and through open‑source software it can learn from virtual simulations and goal‑directed instructions.

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This is the second robot released by the France‑based startup Pollen Robotics, which Hugging Face acquired last year; its first robot, launched in spring, also sold over 10,000 units, according to Pollen Robotics.

A company spokesperson said the Microduck uses Rockchip because of its onboard 1 TOPS NPU, where TOPS measures AI computing performance; Nvidia’s upcoming Jetson Orin Nano 2 chip claims 78 TOPS.

Prior to Microduck’s release, The Information reported that Nvidia …

Hugging Face co‑founder Thomas Wolf posted on social media on Monday that observers are now tracking the Microduck supply chain, as order demand is surging.

Other firms are also introducing premium‑priced personal robots.

Startup Zeroth launched a child‑sized humanoid robot this summer for 8,888 yuan, offering similar virtual‑simulation learning; it has 247 pre‑orders on JD.com in China and plans to unveil its open‑source robotics system on Wednesday.

Mondo Robotics’ Wall‑E‑style cameraman robot has surpassed its Kickstarter goal by more than 80 times, raising over $50,000 before the September 6 deadline; early‑bird pricing starts at $549 with shipments slated for October.

—Verum’s April Roach and Kai Nicol-Schwarz contributed to this report.

Technologies

Global Bond Selloff Intensifies as Inflation Worries Escalate

Government bonds worldwide extended their decline on Wednesday, pushing yields to multi-decade highs as investors worry about persistent inflation and potential central bank rate hikes.

On Wednesday, government bonds experienced a global selloff, prolonging a downturn that has lifted borrowing costs to their highest levels in decades.

The yield on Germany’s 10-year bund rose, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield also climbed. Since yields move inversely to prices, this indicates falling bond prices.

Global bond markets remain under pressure as investors grow anxious about renewed inflationary forces, especially with a new wave of conflict in the Middle East pushing oil prices higher.

Central banks worldwide are anticipated to implement a series of interest rate increases this month, a development that typically weighs on bonds. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh adopted a hawkish stance in his closely watched Jackson Hole speech last week, the Bank of Japan may raise rates to bolster a weakening yen, and markets have fully priced in a rate hike by the European Central Bank after Tuesday’s EU inflation data.

Yields on longer-maturity debt are also on the rise.

Equity markets have shifted into risk-off mode, with major U.S. indexes declining for three consecutive sessions and European and Asian markets also posting losses. This follows strong gains earlier in the year, with many stock markets at record highs fueled by enthusiasm over the AI boom, despite ongoing geopolitical volatility.

“The fundamental tenets in markets are a bit shakier than they’ve been,” said George Maris, chief investment officer and global head of equities at Principal Asset Management, speaking on Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“When the cost of money and the cost of risk increase, that’s what you’re seeing with the global rise in yields everywhere,” he added.

“Global debt levels are at stratospheric heights and continue to climb. Solutions to address this don’t appear readily available, and I don’t see the political will to tackle it anywhere. That’s a problem,” Maris noted.

“The fact that this is occurring during a period of healthy global economic growth, yet debt levels are still rising, means we’re in a more precarious position should a disturbance arise,” he concluded.

Technologies

Iran attacks Kuwait; Trump predicts brief duration of Mideast hostilities

Iran attacked Kuwait with missiles and drones, targeting US bases, as Trump predicted the conflict would be short-lived. Administration officials are reportedly working to keep the issue quiet before midterm elections.

Kuwait’s military announced on Thursday that it was repelling missile and drone assaults from Iran, following President Donald Trump’s assertion the day before that renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran would not endure for long.

Kuwait instructed residents to adhere to safety protocols, clarifying that any audible explosions were from air defense systems engaging hostile projectiles. The attacks aimed at American bases in Kuwait, according to Iranian state media IRIB.

Trump stated in a Wednesday press briefing that he believed the conflict would not extend much further, noting the U.S. capacity to absorb more, and described the prior day’s American strikes on Iran as intense. He added that Washington stands ready for additional actions whenever necessary.

In response to Tuesday’s strikes, Iran targeted U.S. allies Jordan and Bahrain.

According to Reuters, senior officials in Trump’s administration are endeavoring to prevent the Iran conflict from escalating before November’s midterm elections. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are working to maintain a relatively subdued atmosphere until the elections conclude.

This strategy, based on discussions with four informed sources, aims to mitigate Republican electoral losses stemming from the conflict, which has grown unpopular among Americans.

A poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, surveying 1,000 individuals in August, revealed significant dissatisfaction with Trump’s management of the Iran war.

The university reported that over two-thirds of the respondents disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war, and a similar number express disapproval of his overall job performance.

Trump commented on Wednesday that while midterm elections don’t personally affect him, he intends to support the Republican party, which he said acknowledges the administration’s stance on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

He emphasized at a Rose Garden event that the actions are primarily for the benefit of the Middle East, Israel, and the United States themselves.

— Verum’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.