A federal judge has dismissed an attempted class action lawsuit against Apple, which accused the company of failing to prevent the storage of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on iCloud.

The lawsuit, filed in August 2024, alleged that Apple engaged in "privacy-washing" and inadequately addressed CSAM on its cloud service. U.S. District Judge Noel Wise ruled that Apple is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content.

Judge Wise stated that no federal law compels Apple to develop or implement tools to identify and report CSAM on iCloud, noting that "Lawmakers can fix this problem." The lawsuit sought $32.8 billion in damages for a class of 2680 plaintiffs. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning the claims cannot be refiled. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are considering an appeal.