Apple employee sues company for worker surveillance

An Apple employee has claimed that the company violated several California laws by collecting employees' data and requiring them to comply with company policies.

Amar Bhakta, who has been working at Apple as a manager of Digital Ad Tech and Operations since 2020, sued the company for collecting data on its workers via their iPhones.

According to the lawsuit, Apple requires the use of Apple devices, software, and services for work, including personal iCloud accounts.

Whether owned by Apple or the employee, these devices collect and use the personal data of Apple employees and those with whom they interact, even during non-work periods.

The lawsuit cites Apple’s Business Conduct Policy (BCP), which states that Apple’s employees must agree that the company can access, search, monitor, and archive all data and correspondence, including those from iCloud, Messages, or other personal accounts.

“Apple can engage in physical, video, and electronic surveillance of them and that it can, as it wishes, search both Apple and non-Apple devices and other property while an employee is on company premises which – according to one Apple policy – can include an employee’s home office,” reads the lawsuit addressed to California State court.

Bhakta also draws on his own experience, claiming that when he started working at Apple, he had a choice of using either an Apple-owned or his personal iPhone for work. The employee said he opted for a personal phone, and Apple required him to use his personal iCloud account to collaborate with his colleagues.

“Apple used, and continues to use, Bhakta’s private fife data to further its business interests,” the lawsuit reads also adding that the company sought to control the nonwork aspects of the employee's life.

The lawsuit, first reported by Smafor, claims that Apple’s BCP and other documents require employees to comply with agreements that violate several other California laws.

For instance, the lawsuit states that Apple's requirement not to disclose the amount of employees' wages or prohibiting them from disclosing their coworkers’ compensation information is “unlawful speech suppression policies.”