Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has challenged Apple Inc.’s attempt to block a shareholder proposal that would require the tech giant to explain its decision to discontinue software designed to identify child sex abuse material (CSAM). The legal organization submitted a letter to the SEC on November 18, defending the proposal’s right to appear on Apple’s 2025 annual meeting ballot.
The controversy centers around Apple’s removal of NeuralHash, a program designed to scan for CSAM content. The shareholders’ supporting statement indicates that this decision “raised concerns from anti-trafficking groups who expressed concern that Apple was unwilling to prevent the distribution of illegal content.”
What is Alliance Defending Freedom?
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
Alliance Defending Freedom Church & Ministry Alliance, a division of Alliance Defending Freedom, provides targeted legal support to faith-based organizations. Through this specialized service, churches, ministries, and religious institutions can access legal resources designed to help them operate in accordance with their religious beliefs and protect their freedom to function according to their faith principles.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom’s letter to the SEC, the proposal requests that “Apple Inc. prepare a transparency report on the costs and benefits of the company’s decisions regarding its use of child sex abuse material (CSAM) identifying software,” which would be “publicly available to the company’s shareholders on the company’s website.”
Apple’s primary defense against the shareholder proposal claims it’s not about child safety in general but rather about specific technology choices – namely, their CSAM detection software. However, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys contend that the SEC has consistently allowed shareholders to weigh in on specific technology implementations when they touch on important social issues.
For example, according to the letter, in 2023, the SEC allowed American Express shareholders to vote on a proposal about sharing customer data with law enforcement. Other tech companies have faced similar shareholder votes: Meta shareholders got to weigh in on metaverse safety concerns, and Google shareholders voted on AI-driven advertising discrimination issues. Apple itself recently lost a similar argument when trying to block shareholder proposals about AI technology, as did Disney and Paramount, the letter states.
Alliance Defending Freedom’s letter also refutes Apple’s assertion that the proposal would micromanage the company, emphasizing that the requested transparency report simply seeks a broad assessment of “costs and benefits” without prescribing specific policies, methods, or timeframes.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys contend that Apple’s decisions are “in tension” with its “expressed commitment ‘that business can and should be a force for good.’”
Apple has reportedly been placed on the National Center for Sexual Exploitation’s “Dirty Dozen” list for two consecutive years.
The letter emphasizes that “shareholders who care about both user privacy and child safety deserve further information on the way in which Apple arrived at its decision.”
The matter remains pending before the SEC, with the decision potentially impacting Apple’s 2025 annual shareholder meeting agenda.