Three Apple iTunes users from Rhode Island and Michigan have filed a federal lawsuit against Apple Inc accusing the tech giant of selling iTunes data of its users with third parties. Those who filed the lawsuit have claimed in their petition that their class action will also be representing hundreds of thousands of residents from their respective states who allege that their data is being shared without their consent.
The Plaintiffs argue that Apple Inc has breached their trust by sharing the data with advertising firms in contrary to what it preaches – “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone”.
Note 1- The said phrase was put by Apple on a billboard on the Las Vegas Strip in an effort to pull the leg of companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon on the issue of data security and the privacy blunders.
Apple is yet to react to the petition filed against it in the district courts of the United States. But a source from the iPhone maker says that the company never shares personal info with ad firms and the latest allegation might have erupted due to a misunderstanding.
However, the lawsuit clearly specified that the Tim Cook led company shares iTunes listening data with 3rd parties and it includes full name, the home address of customers and specific titles of digitally recorded music. Later on, the data is sold to ad firms which exploit it further for monetization purposes.
Cybersecurity Insiders has learned that the lawsuit is claiming a compensation of $250 each/ Apple customer in Rhode Island and $5000 each for customers in Michigan.
Note 2- In Feb. this year, Apple faced sharp criticism over a bug that allowed Facetime video chatting app lets users hear a person even before the other person they were calling picked up.
