Apple has been sued in federal court over iOS 4’s ability to track device location. Bloomberg reports that Vikram Ajjampur, a Florida-based iPhone user, and William Devito, a New York iPad user, have filed suit against Apple in Tampa, FL, accusing Apple of invasion of privacy and computer fraud, and seeking an order barring the alleged location data collection. The plaintiffs are seeking class action status to represent U.S. customers whose devices run iOS 4, a group that could include one-third to one-half the country’s 60 million iPhone users, according to Aaron Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “We take issue specifically with the notion that Apple is now basically tracking people everywhere they go,” Mayer told Bloomberg in a phone interview. “If you are a federal marshal you have to have a warrant to do this kind of thing, and Apple is doing it without one.”
Apple sued over iOS location tracking
10 comments
Data not sent to Apple…bug that will be dealt with in the next update…money grubbing individuals…case dismissed with plaintiffs paying court costs for stupidity…
And before someone says it…don’t you think Google collects at least that information and more?
Let’s sue all the PC OS’s (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) because all the internet browsers keep the user’s navigation history and the DNS’s keep a cache of all the IP’s of the sites the user visit.
Morons, It has been said that this file is keeping the cellular towers the user passes on, for some kind of cache, to improve the users usability or something like that.
And by the way, this file is protected in the iPhone, iPad and iPod on the original form of the iOS (no one can get into the phone with the stock iOS), the users is only at risk if they jailbreak the iOS, open the Apple security of the device.
Let’s see how this matter evolve.
My iPad asks my permission to “use my current location” when running any of a dozen different apps. I just logically assumed it was tracking it’s location pretty much all the time.
Unless someone can prove that Apple is using that information to send assassins to intercept me. I really don’t see a problem.
seriously, who really cares where you were and what does Apple have to gain?
do these people think Steve Jobs is going to rob their house while they are out of town?
This case is an example of how disfunctional our justice system is. The ability to sue is technically against the constitution. “A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A law suite is just the opposite. You have to prove your innocent.
This is just a case of a greedy lawyer who wants notority. Certainly, we all want to protect our privacy. In todays, modern communications technology explosion it becomes a challenge. The social sites like Facebook and Twitter are two examples where so much info is shared it almost is rediculous. During World War II the popular saying was “loose lips sink ships). Wow, what would those folks think about what is going on now. The media is having a hayday … they coin all kinds of labels like “location-gate” and blow things all out of proportion, because they can … gets people all upset, before anyone really knows what is going on.
I think we all need to do something about shutting down the law suit process. The only ones that benefit are the lawyers and the rest of us (collectively) have to pay for it.
Wait until these people find out (gasp!) that your phone is constantly transmitting its location to AT&T or Verizon!
You mean the phone company KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE?!?!
Wow, discussion of tort reform on the iLounge comment board.
While there is an argument to be made for tort reform, the problem is banning it would leave only one recourse…that the criminal justice system will take up the case for the public. Unlikely to happen.
In iOS case specfically, I’d only have an issue if it was also available on Wi-fi only products (iPad w/o agreement and iPod Touch). Even then, it would be impossible to track “everywhere” you go since you would need a constant wi-fi connection. Every phone since the industry started has known where you are. How else were the providers to know if you traveled out of their regional network when they were only regional?
@BMT – even the wi-fi only products do a pretty good job of determining your location even without any actual connectivity because even when you aren’t connecting, existing wi-fi networks are announcing their basic information to your device that allows the location services to do a pretty good job of pinning you down (I’ve used this with the maps application driving down the road as I passed strip malls and the like).
None of that changes that this basic data logging is essentially harmless and being blown completely out of all relevant alarm levels. You actually need access to the device to get at it, and at that point, unless you’re a politician banging hos or a serial killer who’s been listening to tunes while disposing of bodies, odds are there is a lot more harmful information to be had.
Soon to be forgotten as ‘Droid does that and now SONY have bigger issues at hand…
Another day, another croc of shyte.
At least I found a topic I agree with CMIMNY on…