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So I guess we’re getting a new coordinated push for encryption backdoors of some kind. This time based around child exploitation, rather than terrorism.
These statistics on child sexual imagery are confusing. Does an increase in the *number of images* correlate to an increase in the rate of child abuse? Or do pictures just pile up over time? 
I mean, obviously this stuff is disgusting. But we live in an era when it’s easier than ever to take and keep pictures. So of course statistics like “number of images” are going to show huge increases.
But I don’t care about the size of someone’s SD card, I care about kids.
But I don’t care about the size of someone’s SD card, I care about kids.
The NYT article that underlies these statistics just seems *distressingly* unconcerned with the actual kids. You see a picture like this, the first question any reasonable person asks is: holy shit, does this mean a huge increase in exploited children?! Not this article.
The article even goes on to say that part of the reason these numbers are spiking is because of *improved detection efforts* at providers.
Mass surveillance of child sexual imagery seems like a particularly stupid and ineffective way to fight this crime. People who share these images aren’t terrorists in some tight cell structure. They’re just randos who find each other on the Internet.
If you want to bust online sharing rings, you don’t need to build a mass-scale image recognition system that would make Xi Jinping jealous.
Just have your agents make some fake accounts and hang out in the wrong part of the web.
Just have your agents make some fake accounts and hang out in the wrong part of the web.
The fact that your systems *are recognizing so many of these images* is a good indication that either (1) they’re misfiring, or (2) your detection systems aren’t posing much of a deterrent.
Keep in mind that virtually every image recognition filter can be evaded by using a simple archive or encryption utility, and people aren’t even bothering to do *that*. So clearly you’re not achieving much of a deterrent effect.
I feel like we’re heading towards a world where the bad guys can stay safe with WinZIP.
