The big picture: Apple has long been a strong proponent of privacy as a fundamental human right, which is reflected in services like Apple Intelligence and Private Relay. However, one Apple employee claims that none of the company's privacy protections extend to its workforce and is now taking the matter to court.
Apple is facing a new lawsuit alleging that the company has been spying on its employees by monitoring their activities on personal devices and iCloud accounts. According to Semafor, the suit was filed on Sunday in a California state court by Apple employee Amar Bhakta. He claims that Apple routinely engages in "physical, video, and electronic surveillance" of employees working from home and that this invasive monitoring continues even after individuals leave the company.
Bhakta, who has been working on Apple's advertising technologies since 2020 and leads a team of seven professionals, further alleges that Apple has weaponized its privacy policies in ways that violate California law. For instance, he claims that Apple tried to silence him when he spoke publicly about digital advertising and even forced him to edit his LinkedIn profile to remove details about his role at the company.
This isn't the first time Apple has faced accusations of spying on its employees' devices. According to the lawsuit, Apple provides company-issued hardware and work-only iCloud accounts but actively discourages employees from using them. Instead, the company promotes setting up work devices with personal accounts, which could give Apple access to non-work activities.
That said, several factors suggest the case might not hold up under close scrutiny. For one, Bhakta could have safeguarded his privacy by using a work-only iCloud account. Additionally, there's no concrete evidence that Apple is interested in monitoring employees' personal lives. It's also possible that the information Bhakta shared on LinkedIn included details Apple considers trade secrets or misrepresentations of internal company matters.
Interestingly, Bhakta is represented by Jahan Saga of Outer & Golden and Chris Baker of Baker Dolinko & Schwartz, both seasoned attorneys specializing in cases against companies accused of mistreating employees. Notably, Baker represented Susan Fowler in her high-profile case against Uber involving sexual harassment and discrimination under former CEO Travis Kalanick.
Image credit: Niels Epting