iMessage is an application used for sending text messages on Apple phones. Recently, many Apple phone users reported that iMessage often receives spam messages, which involve gambling, pornography, purchasing agents, etc. They fill users' phones through the iMessage channel that comes with Apple phones. It can’t be deleted anymore, and reporting it has almost no effect. Is the proliferation of Apple iMessage spam really an unsolvable problem?
Reporting the proliferation of iMessage spam messages has almost no effect.
Users report spam messages and they are still accepted.
Citizen Mr. Guo said that his iPhone has many iMessage spam messages sent from different Apple accounts. The content is mainly gambling advertisements, and there are also some Pornographic novels, purchasing information, etc. “There are especially many advertisements for gambling during the World Cup.”
iMessage is an instant messaging service from Apple that can send text messages, videos and other content. When a stranger sends an iMessage, users can click the "Report Spam" button below the message to delete it and report the spam to Apple.
However, accounts that send spam in will only be banned at most in . The sender only needs to register a new account to send again. Mr. Guo reported that he had reported spam messages many times in the past, but with little effect, and the spam messages were still accepted.
is sent in groups. Users cannot report or reject it.
In addition to one-to-one sending, Apple iMessage spam messages can also be sent in groups. Netizen "Health Expert" recently posted that he was inexplicably pulled into an iMessage spam group, and that he and more than 360 other users received spam messages sent in a "group chat" at the same time. There is no "Report Spam" button under this type of information, so users cannot report it, let alone reject it.
distributes advertisements on behalf of 0.1 yuan per piece, and mass sending equipment costs 8,000 yuan per piece.
Behind the proliferation of Apple iMessage spam messages is the extremely low cost of mass messaging. On a certain online platform, the reporter searched and found that there are many merchants who distribute iMessage advertisements. Most of the quotes are 0.1 yuan per message, and the price for sending more than 100,000 messages is 0.09 yuan per message. Some merchants strongly recommended reporters to buy mass messaging equipment. "A machine only costs 8,000 yuan, and you can send unlimited messages from now on." A merchant said, "With the machine, you can also send messages on behalf of others, and soon you will be able to send messages on behalf of others. You can get your money back."
Some sellers even claim that they have a strong iMessage user database and can send spam messages in a targeted manner according to customer needs. "For example, iMessage users in specific provinces, genders, and ages can intercept iMessage spam." Who will take the "pot" of information?
In response to the proliferation of iMessage spam, Apple responded that users can block contacts and phone numbers on their devices, filter out iMessages from unknown senders, and report iMessages that appear to be spam. However, Apple said that iMessage spam is sent through operators, and Apple has no right to identify or intercept personal information.
"From the screening of spam by email service providers to the filtering of spam text messages by telecom operators, these are technical means that have been widely accepted and recognized in the past and can be implemented without touching user privacy." Independent Telecom Analyst Fu Liang said that similarly, Apple should be able to intercept iMessage spam through technical means.
△Information Picture/Visual China
There is a risk of misjudgment in intercepting spam messages. Apple said it cannot completely block
Many industry insiders said that the difficulty in intercepting iMessage spam messages is mainly how to identify spam messages, and there is a risk of false positives. As an instant messaging software, iMessage has high requirements on timeliness. Unlike email, even if it is mistakenly judged as spam, it will not necessarily damage communication efficiency. Compared with other instant messaging software such as QQ and WeChat, iMessage allows receiving messages from strangers by default, so there are many spam messages.
requires additional investment to establish relevant technical mechanisms, and misjudgments when filtering information may also face accusations of interfering with user information interaction. Fu Liang said that Apple may not take the initiative to intercept and classify iMessage spam.
The proliferation of spam information requires comprehensive management and multi-party crackdown.
Knowingly publishing illegal advertisements and failing to act is also an infringement.
Deputy Director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law. Zhu Wei said that as a service provider, Apple’s failure to proactively send information does not constitute its failure to perform. Reasons for regulatory duties, failure to act is also a tort.
According to Article 17 of the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising", an Internet information service provider that does not participate in Internet advertising business activities and only provides information services for Internet advertising knowingly or should have known to use its information services to publish illegal advertisements , should be stopped.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law:
To determine whether it knew or should have known, one should examine whether the information service provider has fulfilled its subject responsibilities, such as whether it has provided effective reporting channels for users, and whether it has provided users with effective reporting channels, and whether it has repeatedly sent illegal information. Whether to be blacklisted. If Apple fails to fulfill its obligations, it will be held accountable.
Multiple departments worked together to form a crackdown network
The "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Strengthening Network Information Protection" issued in 2012 also stipulated that any organization or individual does not obtain the consent or request of the electronic information recipient, or the electronic information recipient expressly refuses , shall not send commercial electronic information to their fixed phones, mobile phones or personal e-mails.
Fu Liang believes that iMessage, as a channel for disseminating Internet information, should have Apple establish a regulatory mechanism and set a bottom line. Obvious illegal information such as gambling and pornography should be directly filtered.
Based on the experience gained in controlling spam text messages in the past, information security experts from China Mobile said that the spam message governance chain is long and has many links. Governance requires the joint efforts of government departments, Internet companies, operators and other parties to form a comprehensive crackdown network to effectively combat spam messages. Cut off its chain of interests.
The proliferation of spam messages or the risk of personal information leakage
In addition, the large number of mass and even precise sending of iMessage spam messages exposes the risk of massive leakage of users' personal information data. Zhu Wei believes that this behavior does not belong to big data precision marketing, but abuses data to infringe on user rights.
It is understood that the Personal Data Protection Law is currently being formulated, covering personal information collection, precision advertising and marketing, etc. Progress in the field of protecting data security and intercepting spam is worth looking forward to.
△Data map/Visual China
▌Source of this article: Beijing Youth Daily
Producer/Yang Jihong Editor-in-Chief/Li Zhe
Editor/Misha
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