Who Controls Your Phone: Client-Side Scanning and the Future of Ownership

This article examines the intersection of technology, privacy, and ownership, discussing client-side scanning (“CSS”), where a user’s smartphone scans its owner’s files, text messages, and photos for unlawful material, with consequences potentially including flagging users for law enforcement. While client-side scanning aims to balance privacy and law enforcement needs by detecting harmful content like child exploitation images, it has raised significant concerns around privacy