Apple Sued by West Virginia AG Over iCloud CSAM Claims

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is suing Apple (AAPL, Financials) for failing to detect and disclose child sexual abuse content on iCloud.The Mason County Circuit Court lawsuit claims that Apple has reported considerably less abuse information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children than other technology firms, despite federal law requiring them to do so.The document states that Google filed 1.47 million reports in 2023 and Meta Platforms 30.6 million. Apple reported 267. The state says the significant difference raises questions about the company’s detection.The complaint also cites Apple’s 2021 detection system announcement that was later canceled. State officials said the corporation declined better monitoring tools.Apple talked about safety measures and parental controls to put kid safety first. The company argues that privacy and security are its top priorities.During the middle of the day, shares fell a little. The case shows how user privacy and the need for regulators to control online content are at odds with one other. Investors will look at how Apple responds and whether the case spreads to a lot more states.