[Apple's system updates]... aim to help limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)... However, the measures... put everyone’s privacy and security at risk by circumventing end-to-end encryption and reducing individuals’ control over their own device...

Apple’s new technology... will give Apple devices the ability... to scan images stored in iCloud Photos in an attempt to identify CSAM. The company plans to update the operating system software... to include a database of image hashes — based on hashes of known CSAM provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)... and “other child safety organizations” — as well as a machine learning mechanism (about which we know little) to compare the hash of images on the device being uploaded to iCloud...

[Apple] will also introduce a feature for message monitoring on childrens’ accounts which can be activated when parents opt in... [M]inors in vulnerable communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, with unsupportive parents, are most likely to bear the brunt of these changes...

The inevitable risk of erroneous flagging, alongside the potential for continuously expanding monitoring... raises serious concerns...

We strongly urge Apple to roll back its plan to implement client-side scanning, and refrain from implementing any technological measures that will... undermine end-to-end encryption... Apple should engage in sustained consultations with civil society organizations and individuals impacted... to understand their real-world impact, and implement measures that will meaningfully guard privacy and empower users.