Amar Bhakta, who’s been with Apple since 2020, is taking the company to court, accusing it of stepping on his privacy and free speech rights. Bhakta, who worked in advertising tech, says Apple kept tabs on his personal iCloud accounts and devices. He also claims the company made him strip details about his job from LinkedIn and stopped him from talking publicly about digital advertising.
The lawsuit points out that Apple blurs the lines between personal and professional life by encouraging employees to link their personal devices to Apple’s ecosystem—allegedly giving the company way too much control over private data.
This case puts a spotlight on Apple’s much-touted privacy values, a core part of its image. Bhakta’s accusations paint a different picture, suggesting that Apple’s internal practices don’t match the public promises it makes. According to the lawsuit, the company’s monitoring stretches beyond the workday and even after employees leave, letting Apple access personal devices linked to work accounts.
This isn’t Apple’s first run-in with employee complaints. Past allegations include shutting down discussions about working conditions and limiting conversations about pay equity and gender bias, even on platforms like Slack. Employees have often pointed fingers at Apple for prioritizing corporate control over transparency.
Apple, for its part, denies Bhakta’s claims, calling them baseless. A spokesperson said the company supports employee rights to discuss wages and working conditions, pointing to annual training sessions on the topic. Apple insists it aims to balance employee rights with an innovative, productive work environment.
Silicon Valley giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon are no strangers to lawsuits. These lawsuits cover everything from employee complaints and privacy issues to accusations of monopolistic behavior. Take Google, for example—they settled a $118 million lawsuit in 2022 after 15,000 employees claimed they were underpaid. As if that wasn"t enough, Google also caught up in an antitrust case, accused of using deals like the DoubleClick acquisition to dominate the digital ad market.
Via: Semafor