Tech MNC Apple was facing a class action lawsuit for damages resulting from an alleged fake scam app available on its App Store that stole cryptocurrencies from users’ wallets. A federal judge in California has now dismissed the proposed “phishing app” lawsuit, rendering it immune from liability.
Hadona Diep, a Maryland resident, accused Apple of “authorizing a malicious application” in its App Store, a spoof of the legitimate Toast Wallet called Toast Plus. It allegedly cost Diep 474 XRP tokens.
U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the Northern District of California ruled that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act prevents Diep from holding Apple liable.
Hadona Diep accused Apple of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by hosting the “Toast Plus” app on its app store. Diep’s seed phrase and all of the tokens in the fake wallet were stolen using the fraudulent app.
Diep claimed more than $5,000 in damages, while her co-plaintiff Ryumei Nagao claims he lost $500,000 in cryptocurrencies.
On August 4, Apple filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields “providers of interactive computer services from liability arising from content created by third parties.”
The judge agreed that Section 230 barred the suit from proceeding because “plaintiffs’ allegations all seek to impose liability based on Apple’s role in vetting the app and making it available to consumers through the app store.”
In essence, Apple cannot be held liable for the fake app because it is considered a publisher of content rather than a creator.
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