The media outlet Semafor has reported on a lawsuit filed by a former advertising technology employee at Apple, alleging that the company engaged in “physical, video electronic surveillance.” The article is headlined “Employee lawsuit accuses Apple of spying on its workers,” although the specifics are less sensational than the title suggests.
According to Semafor’s analysis of the case:
The plaintiff, Amar Bhakta, has been employed in advertising technology at Apple since 2020. The lawsuit claims that Apple exploited its privacy policies to negatively impact his career opportunities. For example, it prohibited Bhakta from participating in public discussions about digital advertising and compelled him to delete information regarding his position at Apple from his LinkedIn profile.
In summary, Bhakta claims he was required to modify his LinkedIn profile and was unable to build his personal brand through public speaking while employed by Apple. Now, he holds Apple accountable for the difficulties he faces in his job search. Does initiating a lawsuit against a previous employer over generalized privacy violations improve your career prospects?
For Bhakta, it appears to be a risk worth taking. The lawsuit asserts that personal privacy is only safeguarded when using company-provided hardware and work-specific iCloud accounts. If privacy is a concern, why not simply adhere to those guidelines? However, work-only iCloud accounts are actively discouraged.
It seems likely that this lawsuit will not gain much traction, as it appears to hinge on theoretical privacy policy interpretations rather than concrete instances of electronic surveillance. What do you think?
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