Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Canadian Law Firm Applies for Class Action Lawsuit Over FaceTime Bug
Montréal-based law firm Lambert Avocat Inc. has applied for a class action lawsuit against Apple with the Superior Court of Québec, seeking compensation for all persons exposed to a major FaceTime privacy bug that enabled users to eavesdrop on the people they call, according to its website.
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action status according to the court document we reviewed.
Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:
Subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube for more videos
Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer, while it prepares a software update with a permanent fix that will be released "later this week."
It was later reported that Apple may have known about the bug for over a week before it made headlines, something New York government officials are investigating. Apple has yet to provide further comment about the bug beyond promising a software update, but we'll be sure to provide updates as we learn more.
Update: MacRumors has uploaded a copy of the application submitted to the Superior Court of Québec.
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action status according to the court document we reviewed.
Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:
Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer, while it prepares a software update with a permanent fix that will be released "later this week."
It was later reported that Apple may have known about the bug for over a week before it made headlines, something New York government officials are investigating. Apple has yet to provide further comment about the bug beyond promising a software update, but we'll be sure to provide updates as we learn more.
Update: MacRumors has uploaded a copy of the application submitted to the Superior Court of Québec.
[ 55 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
12 weeks ago
One bug from Apple and everybody goes crazy. Meanwhile Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft brazenly harvest your data and nobody bats an eyelid.
If people are going after Apple as they are, I can’t see how the other companies aren’t facing daily scrutiny.
Yeah it’s a really bad bug but it’s disappointing to see these double-standards. Shows that people are more interested in making money from a lawsuit than actually giving a damn about people’s privacy.
If people are going after Apple as they are, I can’t see how the other companies aren’t facing daily scrutiny.
Yeah it’s a really bad bug but it’s disappointing to see these double-standards. Shows that people are more interested in making money from a lawsuit than actually giving a damn about people’s privacy.
12 weeks ago
The Slimey ambulance chasing lawyers are going into a feeding frenzy trying to make a buck because they can't hack it as a real lawyer.
12 weeks ago
I am all for a settlement if...
1. It is PROVEN that actual harm was experienced...
2. It is proven that apple was knowingly negligent in creating and/or responding to the bug...
3. Lawyers are forced to pay the bill if it is demonstrated that they are simply seeking $$$ where no real harm was experienced.
Otherwise, unfounded lawsuits do nothing but hurt the average consumer. Maybe we can start a class action suit against the lawyers...
1. It is PROVEN that actual harm was experienced...
2. It is proven that apple was knowingly negligent in creating and/or responding to the bug...
3. Lawyers are forced to pay the bill if it is demonstrated that they are simply seeking $$$ where no real harm was experienced.
Otherwise, unfounded lawsuits do nothing but hurt the average consumer. Maybe we can start a class action suit against the lawyers...
12 weeks ago
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
What ever happened to at least the pretense of damages having occurred? This sounds so much like someone heard the words "Apple" and "Bug" and didn't bother to listen any further.
12 weeks ago
I wonder what harm the members of the class action lawsuit have suffered for them to be part of the lawsuit.
12 weeks ago
If you choose to willingly use any of these devices these days doesn't the EULA say something about there might be issues that come up and the company that made the devices are not liable if something breaks? Its a software bug, its not like the phone batter ignited and burned anyone...
7.2 YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW, USE OF THE iOS SOFTWARE AND ANY SERVICES PERFORMED BY OR
ACCESSED THROUGH THE iOS SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT IS WITH YOU.
7.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE iOS SOFTWARE AND
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND APPLE AND APPLE’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO
AS “APPLE” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 7 AND 8) HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES
AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE iOS SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, EITHER EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR
CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
And more fun stuff in the iOS SLA https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS12.pdf
7.2 YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW, USE OF THE iOS SOFTWARE AND ANY SERVICES PERFORMED BY OR
ACCESSED THROUGH THE iOS SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT IS WITH YOU.
7.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE iOS SOFTWARE AND
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND APPLE AND APPLE’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO
AS “APPLE” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 7 AND 8) HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES
AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE iOS SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, EITHER EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR
CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
And more fun stuff in the iOS SLA https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS12.pdf
12 weeks ago
What strange times we live in where an accidental software bug leads to numerous class action suits in different jurisdictions. It feels like suing your power company if there's a power outage.
Can someone get a class action up and running against Facebook for the willful disclosure of customer data without consent?
Can someone get a class action up and running against Facebook for the willful disclosure of customer data without consent?
12 weeks ago
I missed the part where Apple promised to never have an error in their human written code and would therefore be liable for such.
[ Read All Comments ]
As part of its ongoing effort to rebuild Apple Maps, Apple has added detailed terrain features to the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico as well as the southern portion of Nevada, including the...
Tik Tok, which was pulled from the App Store in India last week to comply with a government demand to block downloads over child safety concerns, is allowed to return to the App Store, reports...
Amazon is currently discounting the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to a new all-time-low price. Specifically, this is the 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 model with 8GB RAM and a 512GB...
Over four years after debuting on Android, and following a significant redesign last year, Google Fit is now available on iOS.
The fitness tracking app can track workout sessions completed...
Following a flash sale on Easter, Best Buy has returned this week with a new 4-day sale that offers discounts on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, iPhone X, Beats products, iPhone cases, and more. The...
iPhone XR remained the best-selling iPhone model in the United States in the first quarter of 2019, as it was in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a survey conducted by research firm CIRP and...
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.3 update to its public beta testing group, one day after providing the beta to developers and two weeks after seeding the second public beta....
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.5 update to its public beta testing group, a day after seeding the beta to developers and two weeks after releasing the second...
