Apple has won a proposed class action lawsuit that accused the company of failing to stop child sexual abuse material from being stored and shared through iCloud after a US federal judge ruled that the claims fall under legal protections provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The decision ends the current case with prejudice, which means the same lawsuit cannot be filed again, although the plaintiffs are considering an appeal.
According to Reuters, US District Judge Noël Wise ruled that Apple cannot be held legally responsible for content created and shared by users on its platform. The lawsuit claimed Apple failed to take action to prevent images of childhood sexual abuse from continuing to circulate through iCloud, but the court concluded that federal law broadly shields online services from this type of claim.
Judge says Congress must address the issue
The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by two survivors identified as Amy and Jessica, who argued that Apple knew child sexual abuse material continued to appear on iCloud but chose not to use available detection tools. They also criticized Apple’s decision to abandon its planned NeuralHash system after announcing it in 2021. Court filings estimated the proposed class included about 2,680 people and sought compensatory damages of up to $32.8 billion, along with changes to Apple’s iCloud policies.
Judge Noël Wise wrote:
“Nothing in federal law requires Apple to proactively utilize 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.”
Reuters reported that Apple argued it adopted different methods instead of NeuralHash because it wanted to reduce risks to user privacy and security. The company has also maintained that it continues working to combat the spread of child sexual abuse material across its products and services.
James Marsh, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the legal team is reviewing its options after the dismissal.
“While the plaintiffs disagree with the judge’s conclusion on the law, we agree with her conclusion that Congress should do more to protect children online and address the skyrocketing harms from online exploitation.”
Although this case has ended, Apple still faces a separate lawsuit filed by West Virginia’s attorney general over similar allegations involving child sexual abuse material on iCloud.
