West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday. He accuses the company of its cloud storage service, iCloud, becoming a tool for distributing child pornography materials. This is the first such lawsuit brought by a U.S. government agency against a tech giant. Apple has for years refused to implement continuous scanning of content on iCloud, citing concerns about user privacy.

Attorney General's Lawsuit

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey filed a civil lawsuit against Apple. He accuses the company of iCloud being used to store and share child sexual abuse material.

Allegation of Facilitating Crime

The lawsuit accuses Apple of facilitating the distribution of illegal content by refusing to implement advanced scanning of files in the cloud. The company allegedly knew about the problem but did not take effective action.

Apple's Stance on Privacy

Apple defends its policy, pointing to the risk of mass surveillance. The company applies scanning only in selected cases, fearing the creation of a system of continuous control over user data.

First Such Lawsuit in the USA

The case is the first lawsuit brought by a U.S. government agency against Apple with such accusations. It may set a precedent for the responsibility of technology platforms for content stored by users.

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey filed a civil lawsuit against Apple on Thursday. The document alleges that the cloud storage service, iCloud, is being used to collect and share child sexual abuse material (CSAM). According to the lawsuit, Apple knowingly or negligently allows its infrastructure to become a tool for criminals.

For years, a debate has been ongoing in the U.S. and worldwide about the boundaries between combating illegal content and protecting the privacy of users of digital services. In 2021, Apple announced, and then suspended, a plan to implement a system scanning images on iPhones for known CSAM patterns before uploading them to iCloud. This met with sharp criticism from privacy advocacy organizations, which feared the creation of backdoors into devices.

The lawsuit from West Virginia accuses Apple of facilitating crime through the lack of effective mechanisms to detect and remove such materials from the cloud. The state claims that the company headquartered in Cupertino, California, despite possessing the technology and knowledge of the scale of the problem, has not taken sufficient steps to prevent it. In response, Apple has for years invoked a fundamental value, which is „We will not scan every single user's file because it would create a system of mass surveillance” — Apple. The company applies scanning only in exceptional, reported cases, fearing the precedent of continuous monitoring.

The case is considered precedent-setting, as it is the first time a U.S. state has sued Apple with the direct accusation that its product serves to distribute illegal content. The lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences not only for Apple but also for other tech giants offering cloud services, such as Google (Drive) or Microsoft (OneDrive). It may force a change in the approach to end-to-end encryption and content monitoring. Previous lawsuits in similar cases were usually filed by private individuals or non-governmental organizations. The decision by the state attorney general gives the case greater weight and may inspire similar actions in other states.

Liberal media emphasize the conflict between child safety and the right to privacy, pointing to the risk of abuse with mass scanning. | Conservative media focus on the duty of tech companies to fight crime and accuse Apple of prioritizing profits over child safety.

Mentioned People

  • JB McCuskey — Attorney General of West Virginia (Republican), who filed the lawsuit against Apple.