The legal fight that could force Apple to rethink iCloud design

"West Virginia's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday accusing the iPhone maker of knowingly allowing its software to be used for storing and sharing child sexual abuse material. John B. McCuskey, a Republican, accused Apple of protecting the privacy of sexual predators who use iOS, which can sync images to remote cloud servers through iCloud. McCuskey called the company's decisions "absolutely inexcusable" and accused Apple of running afoul of West Virginia state law."

""Since Apple has so far refused to police themselves and do the morally right thing, I am filing this lawsuit to demand Apple follow the law, report these images, and stop re-victimizing children by allowing these images to be stored and shared," McCuskey said. The West Virginia attorney general said the state would seek "statutory and punitive damages," changes to Apple's child abuse imagery detection practices and other remedies to make the company's product designs "safer going forward.""

"In a statement provided to Fast Company, Apple pointed out an iOS feature that "automatically intervenes" when nudity is detected on a child's device. "All of our industry-leading parental controls and features... are designed with the safety, security, and privacy of our users at their core," an Apple spokesperson said. Apple walks the privacy tightrope The West Virginia lawsuit isn't the first of its kind that Apple has faced in recent years, though it is the first coming from a state."

West Virginia's attorney general filed suit alleging Apple knowingly allowed its software to store and share child sexual abuse material through iCloud syncing. The complaint accuses Apple of protecting sexual predators' privacy and failing to detect child exploitation at rates comparable to peer companies. The state seeks statutory and punitive damages, changes to Apple's child abuse imagery detection practices, and other remedies to make product designs safer. Apple highlighted an iOS feature that "automatically intervenes" when nudity is detected on a child's device and emphasized parental controls designed for user safety, security, and privacy. The suit follows other recent legal challenges.

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