However, one would expect that an anonymous tip trick is common enough to make someone skeptical at some point.

With this new system it will look like “you” self-reported yourself, no one else to question, plus Apple build a reporting pipeline with express expectation of “high-quality” actionable reports.

So it will drag on for much longer simply because “computer said so” and no real way to disprove any of that.

That’s not how it works.

If a device has CSAM on it and it reaches a particular threshold, Apple gets notified and reviews it before any other entity gets involved, like NCMEC or law enforcement.

It's also extremely difficult for someone to break into an iPhone and plant CSAM on it without the user knowing.

Yes, a determined state-sponsored attacker could possibly do it but that means you got an entirely different set of problems anyway.

The point is that it's highly unlikely that a disgruntled employee or mentally disturbed roommate could pull this off, which is what 99.999% of us have to worry about.