Canadian Law Firm Applies for Class Action Lawsuit Over FaceTime Bug

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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.

facetimebug
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.

Tags: lawsuit, FaceTime Guide, FaceTime Listening Bug

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
keysofanxiety
31 months 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.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tridley68 Avatar
tridley68
31 months 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.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
indychris Avatar
indychris
31 months 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...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jschu22 Avatar
jschu22
31 months ago
C’mon Canada, I though you were better than us down here.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ravenstar Avatar
ravenstar
31 months 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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sfwalter Avatar
sfwalter
31 months ago
I wonder what harm the members of the class action lawsuit have suffered for them to be part of the lawsuit.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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