Apple faces allegations of privacy breach. Amidst rising cyber scams and companies taking initiative to safeguard data privacy the tech giant faces allegations on similar lines. An employee of Apple filed a lawsuit against the company accusing that they have been monitoring their employees. Here’s a detailed look at what went wrong.
Apple accused of ‘Privacy breach’
A new lawsuit filed in California accuses Apple of ‘illegally monitoring its employees’ personal iCloud and iPhone accounts. Amar Bhakta, who is an employee, stated in his lawsuit that in the digital advertising department of Apple, it is necessary for all its employees to install software on their personal devices used for work. This software is allegedly allowing Apple to access apps containing photo libraries, email details, health information, smart home data, and other personal information.
He also said that Apple is violating California law by enforcing policies. As per Canadian law, a company is not allowed to keep a track of physical, video, and electronic surveillance of employees. Bhakta has been working for Apple since 2020 and claims that he was barred from talking about his job on podcasts. He also said that he was ordered to remove information about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
Furthermore, the lawsuit also highlights that as Apple has the right to search both Apple and non-Apple devices on company premises. However, it sometimes went ahead and extended to its employee’s home in certain situations.
The way ahead
Bhakta also alleged that Apple imposes confidentiality policies which does not allow employees to discuss their pay and working conditions with the media. Apple offers employees to use company-owned devices for work. However, Bhakta claimed that it is not what it looks like. The employees are being encouraged to use their personal iPhones instead, managed through Apple’s internal software. Moreover, there are many loopholes in Apple’s regulations. Bhakta says that there are certain things that the tech giant is not following as per laws, even if they are saying that they do.
Looking ahead, Apple is yet to make any official responses against these allegations. So, we can just wait for the popular tech giant to respond and show some light on the matter.
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