New York\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Apple avoided responsibility for the alleged circulation of child sexual abuse material on iCloud after a judge dismissed a lawsuit against the company on Tuesday. The onus should be on lawmakers to protect children instead, the judge said.\n <\/p>\n
\n The proposed class action was filed by two individuals going by \u201cAmy\u201d and \u201cJessica.\u201d It claimed that the tech giant failed to \u201cstop or limit the spread\u201d of child sexual abuse materials, also known as CSAM.\n <\/p>\n
\n Apple fought back against the claims using Section 230, a law that holds online platforms can\u2019t be held accountable for what their users post. The judge sided with that defense in a win for the company and the power of Section 230.\n <\/p>\n
\n US District Judge No\u00ebl Wise in San Jose, California, said in her decision Tuesday that there is no existing law that requires companies to proactively identify and report CSAM. She said that it is up to lawmakers, not the court, \u201cto fix this problem that is contributing to the exploitation of children,\u201d despite possible privacy issues with such a law. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the plaintiffs cannot refile.\n <\/p>\n
\n The plaintiffs are \u201creviewing Judge Wise\u2019s ruling and evaluating our options,\u201d Hillary Nappi, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in an email.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis decision only adds urgency to the pending legislative efforts to ensure technology companies can be held accountable for the harm caused by their design choices,\u201d she added.\n <\/p>\n
\n Apple has made privacy and security for users a hallmark of its brand, but the iPhone maker has for years also faced criticism that it could be doing more to prevent bad actors from operating on its systems.\n <\/p>\n
\n In 2021, the company walked back<\/a> a controversial plan to detect CSAM on iCloud. Though some child safety advocates supported the attempt, critics raised privacy concerns because the detection would happen directly on user devices.\n <\/p>\n