A U.S. judge has dismissed a proposed multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit against Apple. The suit accused the company of failing to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material on its iCloud platform.
U.S. District Judge Noël Wise in San Jose agreed with Apple. She ruled the company is immune under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online services from liability for user-generated content.
The plaintiffs, representing a class of over 2,600 people, sought up to $32.8 billion in damages. They argued Apple failed to use available technology to identify and block such material.
In her ruling, Judge Wise stated that no federal law requires Apple to proactively develop or utilize technology to detect the illegal content. "Lawmakers can fix this problem that is contributing to the exploitation of children," she wrote. "This Court cannot."
The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The plaintiffs' attorney said they are considering an appeal. Apple has consistently stated it works to eliminate such material but has chosen other methods to protect user privacy and security.
Apple still faces a similar lawsuit from the Attorney General of West Virginia.