Apple’s privacy promise doesn’t extend to its own employees, lawsuit claims

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Credit: Oliver Cragg / Android Authority

• An Apple employee has filed a lawsuit against the company for allegedly spying on workers through their personal iCloud accounts.
• The lawsuit claims Apple forces employees to merge their personal and professional digital lives, giving the company access to private information on their devices.
• Apple denies the claims, stating that employees have the right to discuss their working conditions and that it strongly disagrees with the lawsuit’s allegations.

Apple, the tech giant that has built its reputation on safeguarding customer privacy, is now facing a lawsuit that claims its own employees aren’t getting the same treatment. Amar Bhakta, an employee in Apple’s advertising technology division, has accused the company of prying into workers’ personal lives through iCloud accounts and non-work devices. (h/t: Semafor)

Filed in California state court this past Sunday, Bhakta’s lawsuit alleges that Apple expects its employees to give up their privacy as part of the job. The company, he claims, reserves the right to monitor workers through video, physical surveillance, and electronic tracking — even when they’re off the clock or no longer working at Apple. The lawsuit also mentions that*Apple discouraged him from public speaking about his field of expertise and even forced him to sanitize his LinkedIn profile to remove references to his role.




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