Apple Defeats Liability for Not Scanning iCloud for CSAM
5 hours ago
- Apple abandoned its NeuralHash CSAM scanning and implemented end-to-end encryption for iCloud, causing confusion and legal pressure.
- The court dismissed the lawsuit under Section 230, ruling that claims against Apple treat it as a publisher since detecting CSAM requires reviewing content.
- The court rejected attempts to use exceptions from Doe v. Twitter, Lemmon v. Snap, and Roommates.com.
- Judge Wise expressed unease, noting that without a legal mandate, companies have no obligation to detect CSAM, but breaking end-to-end encryption would harm privacy for millions.
- The judge highlighted that victims of CSAM suffer ongoing harm, but current law prioritizes privacy, and called for lawmakers to impose clear requirements.
- The opinion downplayed encryption's role, but the author argues that forcing scanning would break encryption for all purposes, potentially enabling new abuses.