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Notes -
If they were designing a system to enable this, they might not include all of the features they currently have. It would probably be easier to just make one that does it than to start from what they have and add it in. For example, they wouldn't go to all the trouble to try to hide the correspondence between a device ID and the encrypted bag of photos, either (or they'd have to similarly specially puncture it).
Also, most of the concerns about "can't people just turn it off" forget how strong Apple's control is over their walled garden. Ultimately, this usually descends into arguments over Apple's update process, which is where they are the strongest. I'm mentally skipping some steps, but I could imagine designing a system where, when the device requests the latest update, their request must come with certain proofs, and one could imagine building in that those proofs show that they're doing things that Apple wants (it can check by, say, leaving a blob on their server, one that still doesn't reveal the contents of the photos, but can be used to verify that they're being truthful about them), and denying the update if they can't prove that they're doing what they're told. (Probably still easier to just do it the first time, though.)
That discussion usually descends into questions of society, not tech. Whether people will still use Apple devices. Whether people will eschew updating their devices with Apple software and try to go their own way, etc. All of those discussions mostly amount to, "Yes, you can leave Apple's walled garden and go your own way," but that's true of any piece of electronics if you try hard enough. For any devices that stay in Apple's walled garden, Apple is nearly omnipotent (absent possibly nation state level efforts).
Fair enough on the strategy piece. One clarification, though. I did not say:
Often times, the truth doesn't win. Many of those times, it's because the people who could have the credibility to fight have publicly burned it until the truth doesn't matter anymore.
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