Apple Wins CSAM Lawsuit
Court dismisses claims that Apple failed to prevent CSAM spread via iCloud.
1Overview of the case
Apple has won a class-action lawsuit alleging it failed to prevent the storage and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through iCloud. U.S. District Judge Noël Wise dismissed the case with prejudice.
2Plaintiffs' claims
Plaintiffs Amy and Jessica claimed that images of their childhood abuse continued to circulate on iCloud and that Apple knowingly declined to use available tools to prevent it.
3Apple's defense
Apple argued it was protected under Section 230, which shields online services from liability for content created by their users.
4NeuralHash system
The plaintiffs alleged that Apple abandoned NeuralHash, a system announced in 2021 that would have matched images uploaded to iCloud against databases of known abuse material.
5Class action request
The plaintiffs sought to bring the case as a class action on behalf of thousands of others, with estimated compensatory damages as high as $32.8 billion.
6Court's decision
Judge Wise ruled that Apple is not responsible for failing to remove or block user-generated content, dismissing the case. The plaintiffs are considering an appeal.