|
The
e-Safety Commissioner, an office set up to protect internet
users, said that after sending legal demands for information to
some of the world's biggest internet firms, the responses showed
Apple and Microsoft did not proactively screen for child abuse
material in their storage services, iCloud and OneDrive.
The two firms also confirmed they did not use any technology to
detect live-streaming of child sexual abuse on video services
Skype and Microsoft Teams, which are owned by Microsoft, and
FaceTime, which is owned by Apple, the commissioner said in a
report published on Thursday.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was committed to
combatting proliferation of abuse material but "as threats to
children's safety continue to evolve and bad actors become more
sophisticated in their tactics, we continue to challenge
ourselves to adapt our response".
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
The disclosure confirms gaps in the child protection measures of
some of the world's biggest tech firms, building public pressure
on them to do more, according to the commissioner. Meta
Platforms Inc, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and
Snapchat owner Snap Inc also got demands for information.
The responses overall were "alarming" and raised concerns of
"clearly inadequate and inconsistent use of widely available
technology to detect child abuse material and grooming",
commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.
Microsoft and Apple "do not even attempt to proactively detect
previously confirmed child abuse material" on their storage
services, although a Microsoft-developed detection product is
used by law enforcement agencies.
An Apple announcement a week ago that it would stop scanning
iCloud accounts for child abuse, following pressure from privacy
advocates, was "a major step backwards from their
responsibilities to help keep children safe" Inman Grant said.
The failure of both firms to detect live-streamed abuse amounted
to "some of the biggest and richest technology companies in the
world turning a blind eye and failing to take appropriate steps
to protect the most vulnerable from the most predatory", she
added.
($1 = 1.4588 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Byron Kaye. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
