Here is the thing about the client side scanning, it was a way for them to fully encrypt iCloud while keeping law enforcement happy. In my mind it was a privacy win, as the alternative was to scan an unencrypted file in the cloud, much like Google, Microsoft, et al does.
Privacy isn’t an absolute, there is a push pull with the other needs of a society, if folks legitimately think that CSAM isn’t a problem then they have had a very sheltered internet experience.
I know this view is hugely unpopular with the privacy crowd but what Apple was doing honestly felt like a reasonable compromise to me. I guess it’s moot because they now have an encrypted iCloud option without the client side scanning.