Apple has been sued by the state of West Virginia over what it says is a failure to prevent child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) across iCloud services such as iMessage and Photos. Here are the details.
Lawsuit claims other tech companies do a better job of combating CSAM
West Virginia’s attorney general has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Apple, alleging that it has failed to prevent child sexual abuse materials from being stored and shared via iOS devices and iCloud services.
John “JB” McCuskey, a Republican, accused Apple of prioritizing privacy branding and its own business interests over child safety, while other big tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Dropbox, have been more proactive, using systems like PhotoDNA to combat such material.
Back in 2021, Apple announced a suite of new efforts to stop the spread of CSAM across its devices. However, one of those announcements never came to fruition.
Apple had planned to introduce a CSAM detection system into the Photos app that, after significant concerns expressed by privacy researchers, it later abandoned.
The fear was that creating this new system would open the potential for governments to demand access to private user data.
Apple has shipped other child safety-related features aimed to stop the spread of CSAM, including with iOS 26. However, West Virginia clearly believes the company hasn’t done enough.
Apple shared the following with CNBC:
In an e-mailed statement, a spokesperson for Apple told CNBC that “protecting the safety and privacy of our users, especially children, is central to what we do.”
The company pointed to parental controls and features like Communication Safety which, “automatically intervenes on kids’ devices when nudity is detected in Messages, shared Photos, AirDrop and even live FaceTime calls,” as an indication of its commitment to provide “safety, security, and privacy” to users.
“We are innovating every day to combat ever-evolving threats and maintain the safest, most trusted platform for kids,” the spokesperson added.
We’ll keep you posted on any significant updates in the case.
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