Apple faces lawsuit for allegedly spying on workers

By Salih Okuroglu

ANKARA (AA) – US tech giant Apple is facing a lawsuit for allegedly spying on its employees using company-managed devices such as iPhones.

Workers using personal Apple devices must link their iCloud accounts to the company, from which Apple allegedly collects various data from off-duty employees, such as location, claimed Amar Bhakta, who has been working in Apple's digital advertising division since 2020, in a lawsuit filed on Sunday.

In his lawsuit, Bhakta claimed that workers' personal devices, including iPhones, were installed with proprietary internal software on company grounds, where the devices are "subject to search by Apple."

Apple allegedly violated California law by requiring its employees to agree to a policy allowing the company to "engage in physical, video, and electronic surveillance" of its employees,” he added.

“For Apple employees, the Apple ecosystem is not a walled garden. It is a prison yard. A panopticon where employees, both on and off duty, are subject to Apple’s all-seeing eye," US-based tech news website The Verge reported on Monday, citing court documents.

He alleged that Apple restricts employees' speech by prohibiting them from discussing their working conditions and wages, as well as their political activity.

“We strongly disagree with these claims and believe they lack merit,” Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said in a statement to The Verge.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul