Apple wins dismissal of lawsuit over child sexual abuse material on iCloud

A US District Judge in San Jose, California, has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Apple with prejudice. The lawsuit, representing 2,680 plaintiffs, accused the company of failing to prevent the dissemination and storage of child sexual abuse material on its iCloud platform. The plaintiffs sought up to $32.8 billion in compensatory damages and requested court-ordered changes to iCloud's functionality.

Judge Noël Wise ruled that Apple is broadly shielded from these claims under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online services from liability for content created by users. The judge noted that federal law does not require Apple to proactively develop or use specific technologies to identify and report such material, stating that while the issue is critical, it is a matter for lawmakers to address rather than the court.

The plaintiffs, represented by attorney James Marsh, are considering an appeal. The lawsuit had specifically highlighted Apple's decision to abandon its NeuralHash program and implement end-to-end encryption, which plaintiffs argued made it harder to detect illegal content. Apple maintained that its technical choices were made to prioritize user security and privacy.

(Source：The Manila Times)