The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is the latest to file a lawsuit against the technology company, Apple (NASDAQ: APPL). The lawsuit alleges that Apple transmitted phone users locations to third-party advertisers which constituted fraud and unfair trade practices. This lawsuit also names The Weather Channel and Pandora Media as defendants with the possibility that other defendants will be included at a later time.
In early May, Google and Apple both defended their companies privacy policies before a Senate panel. Both sides argued that user data was indeed protected by the existing policies. Apple in particular noted that its company does not tracker user data locations and never has attempted to do so. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota offered that government entities are not trying to stop the technology companies from doing what they do best. It was more about the importance of finding a balance between technology and ensured customer privacy.
Apple issued a software update for their mobile devises which was created to repair what was referred to as a location-tracking bug. The update for iOS 4 devices available from both Verizon and AT&T service providers and was meant to ‘change the iOS crowd-sourced location database cache’, according to Apple’s iTunes website.
Apple also put up new information on its company website to address the location-tracking allegations it has been facing in recent months. The company contends that their iPhones are not tracking user locations but rather keeping tabs on WiFi hotspots and cellular towers in close proximity to user locations to help the iPhone process requests more accurately.
Despite Apple’s appearance before Congress to clarify the company’s policies on user location information, additional privacy lawsuits may continue to arise against Apple. This suit from the District of Puerto Rico is likely not the last of impending lawsuits for privacy violations.
