Apple Suppresses Employees And Invades Their Privacy As Per New Lawsuit

As the digital world has exploded with a wide range of consumer electronic devices, one major concern that has been highlighted is that of privacy.

It’s no secret that people use electronic devices in their personal and professional lives for a variety of activities. Quite often they use their personal devices for professional purposes and vice versa.

As these spheres collide, users are getting worried about their private digital lives being accessed by their employers, which includes their location histories, personal browsing habits, and more.

Such is the case with Apple employees, as per a recently filed lawsuit.

Amar Bhakta, who has been working in digital advertising for Apple since 2020 and is the complainant, alleges that Apple spies on its employees and monitors their activities, even on personal devices.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a California state court, lists three categories in which Apple engages in unlawful conduct, where each gives rise to distinct claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).
 

1. Apple’s suppression of employee speech through unlawful speech suppression rules and otherwise.

2. Apple’s invasion of employee privacy through surveillance and forced patronage through use of their non-work private data.

3. Apple’s clawback of earned wages.

Essentially, the employee alleges that Apple requires their employees to waive their privacy and autonomy rights, even having employees agree that they have no right to privacy in their Private Life Data (including location data).

As such, this allows Apple to “engage in physical, video, and electronic surveillance of them”, while also accessing and searching both Apple and non-Apple devices and other property while an employee is on “company premises”, which can include an employee’s home office, according to one Apple policy.

As per the filing, this monitoring continues even after employees leave the company.

Ahead of this, Bhakta claims that Apple has silenced him when he publicly spoke about digital advertising, even making him edit his LinkedIn profile to remove details about his role.

The company’s policies also push employees to combine their work and home lives, enabling Apple to gain more access to their personal lives. This includes employees having to use only Apple-made devices for work, where the company puts restrictions on its devices, forcing employees to use their own devices.

However, while using their own devices, employees also end up using their personal iCloud accounts, which includes agreeing that Apple can monitor activities on the devices, including real-time location.

“If you use your personal account on an Apple-managed or Apple-owned iPhone, iPad or computer, any data stored on the device (including emails, photos, video, notes and more), are subject to search by Apple,” notes the lawsuit, citing an Apple confidential policy.

“For Apple’s employees, the Apple ecosystem is not a walled garden. It is a prison yard. A panopticon where employees, both on and off duty, are ever subject to Apple’s all-seeing eye,” reads the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the Apple Privacy webpage blares a message that reads “Privacy is a fundamental human right. It’s also one of our core values. Which is why we design our products and services to protect it. That’s the kind of innovation we believe in.”


In a statement to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said, “At Apple, we’re focused on creating the best products and services in the world and we work 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.”

While Apple employees may be subject to such strict and strange surveillance, users outside the company are no strangers to spyware that leaves their devices vulnerable to hackers.

However, investigative journalist Ronan Farrow has a cool tip to help users avoid being tracked by bad actors and government officials on their personal devices.

“Restart your phone every day,” said Farrow in an interview with the Daily Show’s Desi Lydic.

“That's one practical piece of advice. A lot of forms of this kind of spyware will be foiled by a reboot... Keep everything updated, is the other thing.”

His advice comes a week after the release of his new documentary feature, Surveilled, which focuses on how government-sanctioned surveillance technology works and how it impacts users.

What do you think of the allegations made against Apple and its privacy stance when it comes to employees? Do you think businesses should be able to monitor all employee devices when an employee is on company property?

Let us know in the comments below!