Apple: Take Action to Keep Kids Safe

Last week, The Heat Initiative supported survivors in filing a $1.2 billion class action lawsuit against Apple, to hold the company accountable for their role in the proliferation of CSAM on their platforms. In response to a recent article highlighting the story of one of the plaintiffs, the Heat Initiative said,

This historic step is part of a larger campaign by the Heat Initiative calling on Apple to make their products safer for kids. Last week, the Heat Initiative, along with ParentsTogether and Mothers Against Media Addiction, brought bereaved parents and survivors to the steps of the Apple Store in Grand Central Station to remind Apple of their key demands:

Safer iMessage: Create easily accessible reporting in iMessage for kids and parents to report inappropriate images and harmful situations globally.

Safer App Store: Ensure that only age-appropriate, safe apps are available to and advertised to children.

Safer iCloud: Stop the storage and spread of child sexual abuse images and videos in iCloud.

Safer Parental Controls: Strengthen parental controls to be effective and easy-to-use for parents.

We stand with the survivors of child sexual abuse holding Apple accountable for their role in the proliferation of child sexual abuse material on their platforms. Online child sexual exploitation and abuse is a hidden pandemic which needs to be addressed immediately, and tech companies play a huge role in making the online world safer for kids.

By failing to implement effective safety measures and policies, companies like Apple have exacerbated this issue around the world. Apple was even listed as a mainstream contributor to sexual exploitation in the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s Dirty Dozen List this year. They reported that Apple refuses to detect child sexual abuse material, hosts dangerous apps with deceptive age ratings and descriptions, and won’t default safety features for teens. Brave Movement Survivor Leader Tom Krumins highlighted Apple’s rotten record of child protection as mentioned in the Dirty Dozen List:

Due to the rising prevalence of online child sexual abuse globally, the Brave Movement has a global priority campaign on online safety, that we are proud to deliver with allies. As such, we have joined the Heat Initiative in its efforts to advocate for tech companies like Apple accountable and make their products safer for kids.

On June 10th, the Heat Initiative, We Are Wired Human and the Brave Movement organized a protest at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference at Apple Park, California. This protest represented the first time that a survivor-led group confronted Apple in-person to demand action.

Tom Krumins joined the protest and highlighted the impact of Apple’s inaction on child safety at the protest:

Listen to part of Tom’s speech calling on Apple to stop the spread of child sexual abuse on all platforms:

Brave Movement Co-Founder and Survivor Advocate Rosalia Riveria was also on the ground at the protest, and delivered a powerful speech calling on Apple to “work with parents and not predators” and “commit to be brave”:

On September 20th, The Heat Initiative also organized a campaign at the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro at Apple’s flagship store in New York City. The Heat Initiative, alongside Tom Krumins, spotlighted a critical issue: Apple products are not safe for children and adolescents, and Apple must stop selling unsafe phones to kids.

The demonstration at the iPhone 16 launch took the Heat Initiative’s important message straight to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, himself:

As Sarah Garner, CEO of the Heat Initiative said,

Learn more about the campaign in this blog:

Apple must listen to the demands of survivors, allies and parents, and adopt changes that prioritize the safety of children. The time for Apple to take action is now, because children can’t wait.