Apple Faces Allegations of Worker Suppression and Unauthorized Surveillance of Personal Devices

 Apple is facing significant allegations in a lawsuit filed in California state court on Sunday, accusing the tech giant of unlawfully monitoring its employees’ personal devices and iCloud accounts. The lawsuit also claims that Apple enforces strict confidentiality policies that prevent employees from discussing their pay and working conditions, including whistleblowing on legal issues, according to a report from Reuters.

The complaint, brought by Amar Bhakta, a digital advertising employee with Apple since 2020, alleges that the company mandates employees to install monitoring software on their devices. This software reportedly gives Apple access to personal data, such as emails, photos, health information, and data from "smart home" devices. Bhakta argues that these surveillance practices violate employee privacy rights.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Apple enforces policies restricting employees from discussing their working conditions, particularly with the media, and from participating in legally protected whistleblowing activities. Bhakta claims he was explicitly told not to discuss his professional activities on podcasts and was instructed to remove any mention of his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.

“Apple’s surveillance policies and practices stifle and thus unlawfully restrain employee whistleblowing, competition, job market mobility, and freedom of speech,” the lawsuit asserts.

In response, Apple stated through a spokesperson that the claims in the lawsuit are without merit, adding that employees are annually trained on their rights to discuss working conditions.

“At Apple, we focus on creating the best products and services in the world, while also working to protect the innovations our teams develop for customers,” the company said.

This lawsuit comes amid additional legal challenges Apple is currently facing. Bhakta’s attorneys are also representing two women who filed lawsuits in June, accusing Apple of systematically underpaying female employees in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions. Apple has denied these claims, emphasizing its commitment to inclusivity and fair pay.

Furthermore, Apple is dealing with at least three complaints filed by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the company has unlawfully discouraged employees from discussing workplace issues, including pay disparities and sexual discrimination. These complaints include accusations of restricting employees' use of social media and internal communication tools like Slack. Apple has again denied any wrongdoing.

Under a specific California law that allows employees to file lawsuits on behalf of the state, this case could result in penalties, with 35% of any recovered funds going to Bhakta and other affected employees.