NY Man Sues Apple Over Tracking His Location
A New York man has sued Apple Computer, alleging Apple invaded his privacy by tracking his location through his iPhone, then selling the information to advertisers, reports the Times Herald-Record.
Jarret Ammer, of Orange County, NY, has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple in U.S. District Court in New York City. The suit seeks monetary damages, costs and a court order stopping Apple's alleged selling of Ammer's location information to advertisers, reports the Times Herald-Record.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of all Apple iPhone users, alleges applications by Pandora Media and Backflip Studios use the Unique Device IDs (UDID) in iPhones and iPads to record the user's physical location, then sell the information to third-party advertisers, which can then target ads at users based on the time, location and user preferences.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple aids and abets the tracking by not providing users any way to delete or restrict access to the UDIDs, reports Fox New York.
Ammer's lawsuit alleges violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the New York Computer Crime Law, the Unfair Trade Practices Act, trespass to personal property, conversion and unjust enrichment, reports Fox New York.
None of the defendant companies has commented on Jarret Ammer's lawsuit.
"Apple does not track users' locations--Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," Apple VP/software technology Guy Tribble testified to the U.S. Senate earlier this month. Customers must consent to allowing location-based services to run on their phones, Tribble said, as reported by PC Magazine.
Apple will have an opportunity to prove their executives' testimony to the U.S. Senate in open court, if Jarret Ammer's lawsuit goes forward.
Related Resources:
- Apple faces another data location lawsuit (LoopInsight.com)
- Senate Heearings Focus on Apple, Google Cell Phone Tracking (FindLaw's Common Law)
- Apple: IPhone not tracking users, will get update (FindLaw)
- Right to Privacy (FindLaw)