Apple rejected a resolution seeking accountability for its measures to protect children from online sex abuse and voted to keep radical DEI programs during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

Conservative groups working with legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom set the entire agenda of four resolutions at Apple’s Feb. 25 shareholder meeting, according to ADF Director of Communications and Coalitions Jay Hobbs in a same-day press conference. 

One resolution demanded a report on the “decision to remove an iOS software function designed to identify child sex abuse material,” according to Hobbs. Other resolutions also called on Apple to drop “divisive, discriminatory and legally-risky DEI policies,” to report its ethical practices for AI data collection, and for transparency about “partnerships with activist groups that pressure companies to harm free speech and religious freedom,” like the so-called Human Rights Campaign and radical Southern Poverty Law Center. According to BBC News, Apple rejected all four proposals.

But Jerry Bowyer, president of Bowyer Research — which worked with the American Family Association to file the anti-child sex abuse resolution — suggested Apple might still change its policies going forward.

“In today’s meeting, Apple did budge a little bit,” Bowyer said in the ADF briefing. “I think there’s more budging to be done.” 

Dodging Accountability for Child Porn

The company claimed in its 2025 Proxy Statement that the anti-child sex abuse resolution called for “universal surveillance.”

“Apple has demonstrated its commitment to helping protect children in a changing online landscape and has developed innovative technologies like Communication Safety,” the company said in the document.

But the National Center on Sexual Exploitation names Apple as a “mainstream contributor to sexual exploitation.” According to the NCSE, the company has “abandon[ed] plans to detect child sex abuse material on iCloud” and allows sex-themed apps for children as young as 4.

“This Big Tech titan refuses to detect child sex abuse material, hosts dangerous apps with deceptive age ratings and descriptions, and won’t default safety features for teens,” reads the NCSE website. “At a time when child exploitation is at an all-time high and accelerating at alarming rates, Apple has not only failed to make common-sense changes to further safeguard their young users but has arguably set back global efforts to end sexual exploitation.”

Apple previously asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to let it dodge the resolution seeking accountability for efforts to combat online child sex abuse, but the SEC denied Apple’s request.

The resolution demanded the company prepare a publicly accessible “transparency report on the costs and benefits of the company’s decisions regarding its use of child sex abuse material (CSAM) identifying software.”

“Rather than providing answers to good-faith questions on this crucial topic, Apple tried to evade accountability by asking the SEC to remove it from their ballot,” Jeremy Tedesco, ADF’s senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement, said in the press conference.

Keeping DEI Alive

While Apple also rejected the resolution to abandon DEI, company CEO Tim Cook said it may need to change “diversity practices” in the future. 

“Tim Cook went out of his way to claim that Apple has never had racial or gender quotas and will not have them, and indicated the possibility of more change in the future, depending on the evolving legal framework,” Bowyer said.

Apple’s website says the company is “prioritizing equity and representation within our teams,” and “working toward a future in technology that is more diverse.” The company also runs a “Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.” The day after taking office, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to “enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.” 

Tedesco said the momentum for corporate reform is just beginning.

“It’s not a matter of adopting the proposal, it’s a matter of setting the agenda at the shareholder meeting and with corporate leaders,” Tedesco said. “This doesn’t end just because Apple doesn’t produce the report or adopt the proposal. This is the beginning of a conversation, and it’s going to be a long one, until we see the changes that we want from this company.”