In a big relief for Apple, a US court has dismissed a lawsuit that accused the iPhone-maker of failing to stop child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from being stored and shared through its iCloud platform. According to Reuters, US District Judge Noël Wise ruled that Apple is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 US law that shields online platforms from legal liability for content posted by users.
The judge said the lawsuit was trying to hold Apple responsible for not removing or blocking user-created content. She said such claims are protected under the law, which shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content.
The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by two women. They claimed that images showing the sexual abuse they suffered as children were stored and shared through Apple’s iCloud service for years. The case was filed on behalf of nearly 2,680 people with similar claims.
“Court documents said the compensation sought could be as much as $32.8 billion. The lawsuit also asked the court to direct Apple to make changes to its iCloud service,” the report said.
In her ruling, Judge Wise said, “Nothing in federal law requires Apple to proactively utilise available technology or develop new technology to identify and report child sexual abuse material on its cloud platform.”
“Lawmakers can fix this problem that is contributing to the exploitation of children. This Court cannot,” she further added.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit and said that plaintiffs cannot file the same case again.
The complainants claimed the Cupertino-based tech giant knew that child sexual abuse material was being stored on iCloud but did not use available technology to detect and report it. They also pointed to Apple’s 2021 announcement of NeuralHash, a tool designed to detect known child sexual abuse material.
However, Apple later decided not to roll out the feature and instead introduced end-to-end encryption for iCloud data.
Apple has maintained that it remains committed to fighting the spread of child sexual abuse material while also protecting users’ privacy and security. The iPhone-maker has said it chose alternatives to NeuralHash because of concerns over user privacy.
The complainants are now considering an appeal. Meanwhile, Apple is already facing a separate lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of West Virginia over similar allegations related to iCloud.
(With inputs from Reuters)
