A new lawsuit filed in California accuses Apple of illegally monitoring its employees’ personal iPhones and iCloud accounts. The complaint, filed by Amar Bhakta, an employee in Apple's digital advertising department, claims that Apple requires employees to install software on their personal devices used for work. This software allegedly allows Apple to access apps containing email, photo libraries, health information, smart home data, and other personal information, claims the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Apple imposes confidentiality policies that prohibit employees from discussing their pay and working conditions with the media and engaging in legally protected whistleblowing.
Bhakta, who has worked for Apple since 2020, says he was barred from talking about his job on podcasts and instructed to remove information about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
The lawsuit further accuses Apple of violating California law by enforcing policies that permit physical, video, and electronic surveillance of employees. It also claims Apple reserves the right to search both Apple and non-Apple devices on company premises, which could extend to an employee’s home office in certain situations.
According to the lawsuit, Apple offers employees the choice to use company-owned devices for work but reportedly encourages them to use their personal iPhones instead, managed through Apple’s internal software. The lawsuit claims this policy allows Apple to access data on these devices, including emails, photos, videos, notes, and other personal information, as they fall under the company’s right to search Apple-managed devices.
Furthermore, employees using personal devices for work are allegedly required to link their personal iCloud accounts to the company, granting Apple potential access to location data and other sensitive information even outside work hours.
What Apple has to say
In a statement Apple said that it works to protect the inventions our teams create for customers. “Every employee has the right to discuss their wages, hours, and working conditions and this is part of our business conduct policy, which all employees are trained on annually. We strongly disagree with these claims and believe they lack merit,” said Apple in a statement.
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