By Han Shasha
(People's Daily Online) - San Francisco, July 29 - A Chinese
woman named Chen Ma in San Jose, California sued Apple recently
on behalf of about 100 million iPhone users, claiming the
company invade their privacy.
Plaintiff Ma, who has an iPhone 5S, claims that Apple did not
inform its customers about its "location service" function on
iPhones which can tract and record its users' every-minute
whereabouts. She also claimed that the company transmits the
recorded information to its database without customers'
knowledge or permission. And the company even gives users'
private information to third parties, including the federal
government, a class action claims in Federal Court in San Jose
division.
Ma says she found out about the violation when China's Central
Television (CCTV) launched an investigation into Apple's
location service feature.
Since the launch of iPhone 4 which contains an iOS operating
system, the cell phone's newly assed function has been able to
"track its users' whereabouts down to every minute, record the
duration that users stay at any given geographical point, and
periodically transmit these data stored on the users' devices to
Apple's database for future references," according to the July
24 complaint. The iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S
also come pre-installed with the tracking software, the
complaint reads.
When CCTV asked Apple about the feature, "Apple only stressed
that it will not disclose to any third party the data concerning
iPhone consumers' detailed daily whereabouts, but did not deny
that these iPhones are indeed transmitting such highly sensitive
and private consumers' data to its database to be stored for
future reference," the complaint states.
According to the file from courthouse news service, Ma also
claimed that Apple had released consumers' information to third
parties, including the U.S. government, which "has made more
than 1,000 information requests to Apple."
She wants Apple to give all these iPhone users compensatory
damages and promise to no longer use Location Services to
collect data without explicitly permission.
Adam Wang, a Chinese American lawyer in San Jose helped Ma file
the lawsuit on June 24. The reporter failed to talk to the
lawyer without any feedback after repeated calls and emails.
Apple also declined to comment about the class action lawsuit.
Sandy Morris, with civil case docketing at the Northern District
of California, San Jose Division told reporter that the first
hearing of the case will be on Jan. 12, 2015.
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