Apple Hit with iPhone Tracking Class Action Lawsuit

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The intersection between technology and privacy has always been a difficult one to manage by the law, but a new iPhone tracking class action lawsuit is notable for two separate reasons: the reliance of a report from a foreign news network and the repeated references to the government wiretapping program which became known through leaks made by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Lead plaintiff Chen Ma says that she has owned several models of Apple’s popular smartphone, including her current iPhone 5s. However, since the time the tech giant launched the iPhone 4, software included in the operating system enables the company to allegedly “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 data base for future references.”

She and her class action lawyer allege that this is in violation of California statutes regarding consumer privacy because she “was not given notice that her daily whereabouts would be tracked, recorded, and transmitted” to company databases. According to the class action lawsuit, it was not until a July 11 report from Chinese Central Television that she found out about how the company had “been surreptitiously acquiring the data.”

Where it gets more interesting is the reference to government programs, although no specific reference to Snowden or the NSA is made. Rather, Ma alleges that has released and disclosed the above described private information of iPhone users to third parties, including but not limited to the U.S. government, which has reportedly made more than 1,000 information requests to Apple.

“At this point, Plaintiff is not aware of any details of any procedure, if any, that has been used by Apple in responding to U.S. government’s information requests,” The iPhone tracking class action lawsuit says. “Based thereon, Plaintiff alleges that the disclosure and release of iPhone users’ highly sensitive and private information has not been for a legitimate public concern.”

Just as important to the tracking program is the fact that to disable it, Ma alleges that one gives up on many of the key functionalities of the iPhone 5s, including navigation and others. As a result, she is seeking an injunction on the continued storage of such data for all owners of an iPhone 4, 5s or 5c, any damages that the judge might find equitable and whether or not past data should be destroyed.

According to the iPhone tracking class action lawsuit, based on Apple’ sales figures, the putative class could represent up to 100 million Americans who purchased the smartphone with tracking services from Sept. 1, 2012 to the present.

Ma is represented by class action lawyer Adam Wang of Law Offices of Adam Wang.

The iPhone Tracking Class Action Lawsuit is Chen Ma v. Apple Inc., Case No. 14-cv-03344, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.