Apple is sued over iCloud flaws: Understand the case

[Joywtome231]

Apple is being sued in the United States for failing to prevent the dissemination of child sexual material on iCloud, its cloud storage platform.

The accusation was made by a victim of sexual abuse who discovered that images of the crime were shared and stored on the company's service.

The case brought attention to Apple's privacy policies and how they can affect child safety.

The case and the victim
A 27-year-old woman who was abused as a child has discovered that images of her suffering are still circulating online.

In 2021, authorities reported that these photos had been found on a Vermont cameroon phone number library man's iCloud . This prompted the victim to sue Apple, claiming that the company failed to protect children like her.

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According to the complaint, Apple failed to use technological tools that could help identify and block illegal images on its platform.

The victim claims the company gave false hope by announcing a system called NeuralHash , but never put it into practice.

What is NeuralHash?
NeuralHash was created to identify illegal images by comparing photos stored in iCloud against a database of known child sexual abuse images.

The system could help quickly identify illicit material and prevent its spread.

However, security experts have warned that this technology could be exploited by governments to invade users' privacy.

As a result, Apple abandoned the project, claiming it wanted to protect its customers. This decision drew criticism, especially from child protection groups.

Accusations against Apple
The lawsuit, filed in a California court, accuses Apple of prioritizing profits and privacy over child safety.

Lawyers say Apple products are “defective” as they allow illegal images to be stored and shared without control.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for up to 2,680 victims , with minimum awards of $150,000 per person.

This means the total amount could exceed $1.2 billion . In addition to the financial impact, the case could put pressure on Apple to change its practices.