Apple Class Action Says Two-Factor Authorization Takes Too Long

A class action lawsuit claims Apple’s two-factor authentication is inconvenient and takes too long to use.

Plaintiff Jay Brodsky says he was locked out of his Apple device by a business policy that requires two-factor authentication that a user cannot disable after a lapse of an initial 14 days.

The Apple class action lawsuit claims the tech company enabled two-factor authentication on Brodsky’s device without his consent.

Brodsky says the two-factor authentication enabled on his device caused him inconvenience because he not only had to remember a password to log in, but then he had to wait for Apple to send a code to a second approved device that would then allow him to log into the initial device.

The Apple authentication class action claims that millions of other consumers were similarly inconvenienced and injured because of Apple’s two-factor authentication policy.

Allegedly, Apple customers “have suffered economic losses in terms of the interference with the use of their personal devices and waste of their personal time in using additional time for simple logging in.”

The plaintiff seeks damages for himself and all ofter similarly affected consumers who have used two-factor authentication for more than 14 days since 2015, when Apple introduced two-factor authentication.

In addition to seeking monetary damages for Brodsky and other Apple users, the two-factor authentication class action lawsuit seeks an injunction that will prevent Apple from continuing to force consumers into using two-factor authentication, and will require the company to allow customers to choose their own log in procedure for their devices.

According to the Apple two-factor authentication class account lawsuit, Apple enables two-factor authentication under three circumstances — when a software update occurs on one of the Apple devices, when a user creates a new Apple ID, or when the user of the Apple device turns on two-factor authentication in the Settings of their device.

Brodsky says many customers are forced to use two-factor authentication against their wishes, and calls Apple’s methods of enabling the system and preventing customers from disabling it “coercive and extraneous.”

The Apple class action lawsuit alleges that after two-factor authentication has been enabled, in some instances Apple will send an email to the owner of an Apple ID password that tells them that the link to disable two-factor authentication will expire within 14 days.

However, this messages is reportedly the very last line in a message touting the benefits of two-factor authentication.

Brodsky argues that this email can mislead consumers who may miss the last line, and may not know that they only have 14 days during which they can disable the two-factor authentication.

The Apple class action lawsuit claims that Apple knows or should know that this method of alerting customers is ineffective, and that many customers are forced into using two-factor authentication against their wishes.

Brodsky is represented by Peter R. Afrasiabi, Deepali A. Brahmbhatt, and John E. Lord of One LLP.

The Apple Two-Factor Authentication Class Action Lawsuit is Jay Brodsky v. Apple Inc., Case No. 5:19-cv-00712, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.