Apple NotificationsThe Apple logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Apple NotificationsThe Apple logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The abuse began while she was still a baby. A relative abused her, took photographs, and shared them with others online. 

Almost every day, the lady, now 27, is reminded of that assault by a law enforcement notice stating that someone has been charged with possessing the photographs. One such notification, which she got in late 2021, stated that the photographs had been discovered on a man’s MacBook in Vermont. Her lawyer later acknowledged to law authorities that the photographs were also kept on Apple’s iCloud.

The letter came months after Apple debuted a tool for scanning illicit photographs of sexual abuse. The woman, who goes by a pseudonym, is now suing Apple, claiming that the company betrayed its promise to safeguard victims like her. Instead of using the tools it had developed to identify, remove, and report photographs of her assault, the lawsuit claims that Apple enabled such information to spread, forcing victims of child sexual abuse to relive the trauma that has molded their lives.

The case was filed late Saturday in the federal court system in Northern California. The improved design aimed at protecting children” but “then did not execute those designs or take any measures to detect

According to James Marsh, one of the attorneys involved, the lawsuit wants to modify Apple’s procedures and compensate a prospective group of 2,680 victims who are entitled to participate in the case. According to the law, victims of child sexual assault are entitled to at least $150,000 in damages, which implies that the entire amount, with the average tripling of damages requested, may surpass $1.2 billion if a jury finds Apple guilty.

In response to the lawsuit, Fred Sainz, an Apple spokesperson, cited safety measures the business has implemented to limit the dissemination of freshly made illicit photos.