Thousands to sue Apple over privacy
Source: Agencies |
August 18, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A group of 27,000 South -Koreans is suing Apple for US$26 million for what they claim are privacy violations involving the collection of iPhone user location information.
Each person in the suit is seeking 1 million won (US$932) in damages, Kim Hyeong-seok, one of their attorneys, said yesterday.
He said they are targeting Apple and its South Korean unit to protect privacy rights.
An Apple spokesman in Seoul declined to comment.
Apple has faced complaints and criticisms since it said in April that iPhones were storing locations of nearby cellphone towers and Wi-Fi hot spots for up to a year. Such data can be used to create a rough map of the device owner's movements.
Apple also revealed a software bug caused iPhones to continue to send anonymous location data to the company's servers even when location services on the device were turned off.
The company has said it will no longer store the data on phones for more than seven days, will encrypt the data and will stop backing up the files to user computers. It has fixed the bug with a free software update.
Kim took Apple to court earlier this year over iPhone privacy and was awarded 1 million won.
South Korea's communications regulator earlier this month ordered Apple's local operation to pay a 3 million won fine for what it said were violations of the country's location information laws.
Each person in the suit is seeking 1 million won (US$932) in damages, Kim Hyeong-seok, one of their attorneys, said yesterday.
He said they are targeting Apple and its South Korean unit to protect privacy rights.
An Apple spokesman in Seoul declined to comment.
Apple has faced complaints and criticisms since it said in April that iPhones were storing locations of nearby cellphone towers and Wi-Fi hot spots for up to a year. Such data can be used to create a rough map of the device owner's movements.
Apple also revealed a software bug caused iPhones to continue to send anonymous location data to the company's servers even when location services on the device were turned off.
The company has said it will no longer store the data on phones for more than seven days, will encrypt the data and will stop backing up the files to user computers. It has fixed the bug with a free software update.
Kim took Apple to court earlier this year over iPhone privacy and was awarded 1 million won.
South Korea's communications regulator earlier this month ordered Apple's local operation to pay a 3 million won fine for what it said were violations of the country's location information laws.
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